Dear Tell All: Almost all the Madison-area women I meet through Tinder are politically progressive, like me, even though I don’t mention politics in my profile. That’s to be expected in a liberal place like this. But on a recent date I met a Donald Trump supporter and still feel bad about what happened.
This woman looked incredibly beautiful in her photo, and in person she was also incredibly sexy. Her profile, like mine, had no mention of politics, but at dinner I made a casual anti-Trump remark and didn’t get the response I expected. Instead of automatically agreeing with me, she defended Trump with the current Fox News spin: the media are against him, the Russia investigation is a witch hunt, the tax bill will help the middle class more than the rich, etc.
Now, I truly believe Trump is a threat to our democracy. I plan to do everything I can to defeat his destructive agenda in 2018, including donating to and volunteering for Democratic candidates. And in any other situation, I would have passionately attacked my Tinder date’s bogus talking points.
Instead, I let the matter drop because I was attracted to her. For the rest of our dinner, I steered the conversation away from politics so we could stay on good terms and, I hoped, end up in bed together. Which we did.
It was fun while it lasted, but I’ve been ashamed of myself ever since. Should I have stood up for what I believe in, or can I let myself off the hook for having a harmless one night stand?
The Resistance
Dear The Resistance: For someone who signs off with such a grandiloquent name, you don’t seem very good at resisting. You gave in to temptation and checked your principles at the bedroom door.
In most cases, I’d say no big deal. The future of the republic doesn’t hinge on whether you do or don’t have sex on a given night. But since you asked for my advice, all I can do is judge you by your own standards. And by that measure, you should be ashamed of yourself. You decry Donald Trump’s “destructive agenda” and call him “a threat to our democracy.” And yet, for all those strong sentiments, you didn’t have the guts to speak up when an attractive woman says otherwise.
Your side is in for the fight of its life in 2018, The Resistance. If the anti-Trump forces want to retake Congress, they’ll have to show a lot more discipline than you just did.
Do you have a question about life or love in Madison?
Write Tell All, 100 State St., Madison, WI 53703. Or email tell all@isthmus.com.
