Nostalgia

In these days of ideological warfare, how envious to recall my parents' generation when political affiliation was like religious affiliation: nobody's damn business! "I wonder if the Smiths are Democrats?" mom would wonder about new friends. My parents would never be so rude as to ask. Unthinkable today. My dad would scoff at anyone, and they were few indeed, who would display a political sign. "Who is he trying to convince?" Those times I recall as a kid couldn't be more different. I think we lost considerable civility.