Associations, Political and Otherwise

I found myself in unchartered territory earlier tonight; a political debate with my twin brother.  Up until now we had seen relatively eye-to-eye in that he would listen to what I had to say in our Poli Sci classes during high school and parrot what I had said, which I was fine with.  It always helped to have someone else on your side.

However, as I shifted away from my previous affiliation and became a bit more moderate, my brother has stayed put.  The information he receives is not filtered through me but rather those around him and the Internet.  Tonight I discovered that I have officially lost my influence over my brother's political association.  He is a stand-alone figure, a fact I find both perplexing and wonderful.

My brother and I have always had a little competitive flair in our relationship, and this political difference has opened up a whole new category.  We started our conversation off with discussion of the turmoil in Madison, our hometown, and our discussion got heated from there.

I found throughout our conversation that though our political association had changed, there was a deeper association underneath; family.  It's not voluntary, but the benefits and strength it has is essential to why America has become a success.  It held more weight with us than our political associations, as we did not dip into the vitriolic spew politics has become for most  (though I daresay that if he had not been as conciliatory as he had been there could, and would, have been a slight escalation in our rhetoric)  I think that de Tocqueville may have missed an opportunity in solidifying his claims by leaving this point out.