Teresa Romans and I used to bicker a lot in high school. We
bickered mostly about things political. Of course that was about the only thing
we ever talked about. We were not enemies but when it came to the rights and
roles of government we were foes rather than friends. She was an incessant
liberal. I was an ardent conservative. I used to shake my head in dismay that
anyone could hold the views she did. I know she thought I was wrong. But I knew
she was wrong. She probably felt the same way about me. After high school I had
to find someone else to discuss politics with. But I never came across anyone
as delightfully ready to argue with me as she was.
A little over three years ago I bumped into her on facebook.
She had a different last name but after clicking on a post or two I knew it was
her. I sent her a friend request. I wondered if my old foe would accept it but
she did. We picked up our bickering where we had left off. I thought maybe life
had taught her a thing or two. But she was more confident in her philosophy
than ever and her arguments were more honed. She probably thought I had not changed much
either. Though I am certain my views
were somewhat tempered and I was more careful in the way I expressed them. The
2012 election season was upon us and we had fun. Most people do not like politics
but Teresa and I loved it. You never won many arguments with Teresa. She rarely
(if ever) would concede anything. I tried to straighten her out but she was
badly bent. She tried to correct me but I was hopelessly warped. No doubt about
it we had opposing political persuasions. Facebook is not a good public forum
for political debate. So I tried to express my thoughts in private messages.
But sometimes I just could not help myself. She would post something and with a
few strokes of the keys I would poke her and prod her with some comment just to
see what she would say. I knew full well that she would say something.
I discovered something in the process. Teresa and I had
different world views. We had different ideas about what our nation should be
involved in. Yet we both had tremendous pride and love for our country. Every
now and then we would agree on something.
We would agree on a desired outcome even if we could not agree on the
avenue to make it happen. And I think maybe on a different level than politics
we became a little closer to friends than foes.
After the 2014 mid-term elections I got a little more
interested in basketball than politics. Maybe I was just tired but I started
ignoring political debate, especially on facebook. Then a month or so ago I
thought to myself “I have not seen any posts by Teresa in the news feeds”. Then
I discovered she had died. She had a brain tumor and she went fast. I was
saddened. But here is what I know about Teresa. She loved the United States of
America. She took advantage of the liberty our nation offers to fully and
freely express one’s views. She worked hard to shape our nation and make it a
better place. She never missed an opportunity to vote. Teresa and I may not
have had much in common. But we were both glad to be citizens of the land of
the free and the home of the brave.
