DEAR MISS MANNERS: How do I maintain a friendship with a long-ago college sorority sister who is an apparent Trump supporter and whose eldest son is named after a Confederate general? I haven't seen her in years -- we live in different states -- but find myself making political remarks to her online.
She recently posted a picture of Elvis Presley as some sort of idol, and took umbrage when I told her I preferred Ray Charles to white guys ripping off Black soul musicians. She snapped back: "Is everything political with you? I can enjoy all kinds of music without making an issue of it."
Well, I didn't enjoy being chastised by this old friend, and I wonder if I stepped over the line, or if she did. I have to admit being horrified by anyone who would vote for Donald Trump. But she does have her good points.
GENTLE READER: Let us hope your sorority sister is thinking the same thing about you (that you have your good points, not that she is horrified by your voting record).
Athena pardoned Orestes for killing his mother because she foresaw an endless chain of vendettas depopulating ancient Greece. For an equally heartfelt reason -- if one less likely to stain the carpet -- Miss Manners reminds you that one rudeness (whatever your friend no doubt said that made you feel virtuous in your outburst) does not justify another. Having been the most recent aggressor, it is your turn to apologize and agree that, if you are to be friends, some things are best left unsaid.