Tolerance and tea

A belated welcome to Ariella, newest member of Team Songblague, who chose to zing me with her debut yesterday. In the past, I'd view her song choice as an act of war, but now it feels more like an inoculation. Or a reminder that it's not always so bad to have things around that you instinctively bristle at. Kinda like having your crazy uncle come live in your house for a while. One day you discover a weird mutual love of peanut butter ice cream or whatever. Takes diff'rent strokes to move the world. All that jazz.

Which gets me thinking about tolerance. And its limits. For example, I like tea—its many varieties, the texture of the leaves, the rituals around prepping and drinking it. Even the word itself - soft and homey. Your mouth ends in a smile when you say it. But it's tax day and that smile is failing me because I keep seeing news items about the tea party douchebags, the very existence of whom pisses me off exponentially. Beyond the obvious fact that it's bad to have armed, paranoid wackos pretending to be a legitimate political reality, I hate the hijacking of the word. Today I'm doing my small part for the cause of its reclamation. The one's damn catchy, and now I'm thinking about summer songs.

Time and Love - Tea For Two