politics schmolitics

I confess...I can't come up with a cute little line here.

It has surprised me over the past three years to see the political side of Boston. We are in a state known for being very Blue, but I find that much of the population is more conservative in some senses than the folks in Georgia were (well, in Atlanta...if that is "really" Georgia).

The religious side of the area is definitely very prominent. A big news item this week was changes in Mass services due to the swine flu...and the outrage many expressed at the doing away (temporarily) of communal wine. I think a bit of this may be tempered in the political sphere by a tendency of New Englanders to focus more on their immediate circles than any others. People may not approve of abortion or gay marriage, but they also may not feel compelled to care what others do in that vein. It's the same reason gay marriage passed in Iowa. It is liberal in some senses but not in others. And even gay marriage wouldn't have made it through here by popular vote at first...though now that the sky hasn't fallen, it might be upheld.

Which leads to the next thought...the area is pretty change averse, a conservatism in itself. We'd had the same two senators for a long time...we're only getting a new one because Kennedy passed away (we also like Senators with "K" sounds in their names but I'll skip that silly tangent for now). The mayor has been in office for many years and while some opponents cry out about needing change, I think most people kinda like it that way. If it ain't broke (and maybe if it is), why fix it?

Not sure where I'm going with this. Just something I think about. Maybe the lesson is to really look before you label. My part of GA was quite liberal (my neighbor was an openly gay woman in the state house, we elected a total nut to US House b/c she was the Dem)....I think a Republican has a much better shot at my MA neighborhood than my old haunts.