Right & Left

Our landlord brought us a new refrigerator today. It is a huge improvement over our last which had most recently started screaming at us while operating. The inside dimensions are much more spacious and customizable, and I can fit so many more year old dressings and condiments in my door than before. The problem it does have is that the door handles are on the left and it opens to the right, the opposite of our old fridge. Every time I try to open the door I reach for the wrong side because it just seems more natural for me to do so. Then when the door is swinging to the left I have to stand a foot away to allow the door to pass in front of me instead of beyond me on my left. While packing all of our food into the new fridge it dawned on me that this refrigerator issue illustrates a common political phenomenon. Lifetime Political Party Affiliates.
Allow me to explain briefly. The refrigerator itself represents our nation and it's political system. Regardless of which direction the door opens, liberal/left or conservative/right the refrigerator still functions, the food stays cool, the people are pacified but nothing is different inside the political system. I happen to have been raised on the left side of the political spectrum and like most Americans will find myself there for the rest of my life. When faced with a change in ideals such as the door opening the other direction I found my brain unable to function properly. If I thought about it long enough (dealt with it for a day) I would probably agree that opening the door in a slightly different manner was really not that big of a deal and maybe even there will be a benefit to it such as it won't bang on the side of our kitchen counter all the time. I just can't do it. Just like most Americans cannot take a step back, look at the other side and think about its views for just enough time to actually form an educated opinion.