This past Friday I went to an Atlanta Braves game with the infamous AllenHuntShow.com commenter LC. If you don't know who LC is, you need to be reading the blog more often. He's pretty much second only to Erik (warning: NSFW) in his "nemesising" (on a side note Erik was invited as well, but couldn't make it last minute).

We all know that I love Erik since I have blogged about that. But I too, legitimately love having LC around. He's a staunch atheist/agnostic, and doesn't agree with much of what Allen or I have to say. But he is more than welcome here and I have very much loved the friendship that has developed because of the show.

More on that in a second.

I was reading Fort Wayne Observed the other day and came across a blog post on Barney Frank calling out Mark Souder for his anti-drug stance. The interview of Barney by Esquire included the following statements:

ESQUIRE: ...who's against it?

BARNEY FRANK: Well, Mark Souder from Indiana, who's very much a proponent of the drug war.

ESQUIRE: When you talk to Souder about it, what does he say?

BARNEY FRANK: You don't waste your time on people with whom you completely disagree.

In full disclosure, 1.) Mark Souder went to my church in Fort Wayne, IN and 2.) I can't wait for the day to beat Mark in an election for Indiana's 3rd Congressional District (I'll save why for a blog on another day).

But I digress.

Now the irony is that for the first time ever, I think I actually agree with Barney Frank if you read the entire interview. But what Barney and Mark equally don't understand is that using the excuse "you don't waste your time on people who you completley disagree [with]" is what is wrong with American politics, and frankly, what is wrong with American culture altogether.

Not only this past week did I go to a baseball game with LC, but my Porn Producer buddy Mike South sent Allen and I an interview with Scott Janke. Highlighting another relationship where I have serious disagreement on certain topics, but one where we have kept the lines of communication open because of mutual respect and a higher pursuit of truth. Just like LC. Just like Erik.

Surrounding your life with people who you only agree with leaves one with an incredibly myopic view of the world that is worse than just ignorant, it is damaging. Especially in leadership positions.

I would highly encourage Mark and Barney to follow the example of LC and I: go to a Nationals game, have a beer, and treat each other like human beings.

Who knows what kind of country this could be if our politicians - and each other - lived that way on a regular basis.