General Discussion

Ever. I do not control my relatives, and they, in turn, do not control me. We do not attempt to do that at any time.

I have Magats in my family. I have socialists in my family. We do not discuss politics, because we have family interests in common. So, political matters stay in the background in our communications. We all know how each other feels about political issues. We all know that we are not going to change the feelings of the others. So, we leave politics out of our relationships. Period.

No jokes. No sarcasm. No nothing related to political positions. That way, we can get along OK and help each other when that is needed.

In 2021, when both of my parents died at the age of 96, it fell to me to deal with their estate, which was in a family trust. Thanks to my father, whom I had informed about the advantages of such a trust. He followed up on that with an attorney. I knew nothing about what arrangements had been made. I did not know that I would be the successor trustee. I learned that after they died.

Because the family had always kept politics and political matters out of our family discussions, everyone trusted me to handle things properly. And I did. Politics stayed out of it. I just did what was needed to follow the guidelines set up by my parents. I did it fairly, efficiently, and had the entire estate sorted and distributed within four months. Despite some less than friendly relationships, we skipped the differences between member of the family and got down to business.

Now, I'm the last living member of my generation of that family. I'm glad we were able to deal with something that is often a disaster without any dispute or rancor. I think our avoidance of the political world within the family is largely responsible for that.

So, I recommend that everyone who can try to avoid political discussions within extended family situations. Keep it family oriented. Let everyone follow their own political path and stay on your own. It will be much easier and more peaceful.