What if my best friend was a Republican?

     What would I do if my best friend suddenly turned Republican? Perish the thought! But then again...what the Sam Hell is a Republican anyway? Every member of my immediate family considers themselves Republican. Several of my friends are Republican. Some of my most trusted allies at work and at home are dirty, rotten Republican. So what exactly does that mean?
     Tell ya the truth, I don't know. I know that they are the financially secure. Well-some right wingers that I know are dirt poor. (This brings me to a great big WTF? Is there a politically correct term for "redneck?")
     One thing I know for sure is that I don't know anything. I can only know things from my limited perspective, and somehow, that gets me by. Are there bats in my bellfry? Yes. But I doubt that they're Republican.
     My ideas are simple. Peace, love, harmony. Do unto others as you have done unto you. Love one another. But here's where the trouble comes in. I don't have money-so I'm not afraid of poor people taking it. I don't have a great job, so I'm not afraid of losing it to a minority. I'm not a man-so I'm not afraid of losing my power to a woman. And I'm not a married woman-so I'm not afraid of offending a man. Pretty simple. I'm a Democrat. I would like more money. I would like a better job. I would like a relationship built on, and fostered by equality. F@ckin' Republicans. I'm exactly what they're afraid of. So what if my best friend were a Republican? She's really not that far off. And I love her anyway. I always will. I guess a political party doesn't really define us. Not as much as we like to believe it does, anyway. It's just a way we define ourselves-right or wrong-a way to try to see ourselves, even though I'm not sure that we ever really see ourselves for who we are. And whoever my best friend is, I'm glad that she calls herself a Democrat. I'm glad that even when she tells me, "Terese, you do not want a man without a pension," she still defines herself as someone who belongs to the party of humanity and not the one who defines a person by his or her monetary worth. I like my friends rich in character and not shallow in integrity. But once in an everchanging aqua blue moon, I find those qualities in the most unlikely of people-Republicans.