Gary Crooks: Do you live your politics?

I wrote an editorial criticizing Idaho’s involvement in the transgender-related lawsuit, and a gentleman called to cancel his subscription. Of course, he could’ve canceled without calling, but the point is to make a point – one that stings.

In principle, the cancel-my-subscription call is no different from Gov. Jay Inslee announcing that state agency workers will cease state-funded travel to North Carolina after its governor signed a law that compels transgendered people to consult their birth certificates before choosing a bathroom.

Target department stores recently announced it would support transgender rights, and the American Family Association responded by mounting a boycott. The same conservative Christian group came to the defense of Chick fil-A in 2012, when its president uttered an anti-gay marriage comment, which spawned a boycott of the fast-food chain.

And round and round we go.

A while back, I posted on Facebook an amusing, nonpolitical anecdote that took place at a Chick fil-A in Arizona. A couple of progressive friends responded by asking what I was doing there in the first place.

I’ve written about this quest to live one’s politics before, and I still find it fascinating. In 2011, I wrote:

“You’ve been asked to a movie but must decline because it stars a known liberal or conservative or person with questionable lifestyle choices. Your grandmother wants a ride to the big box store, but you find a way out because of its labor policies. You vote against school levies because the teachers belong to unions. You need new tires but avoid those shops owned by a conservative. Or, you buy them there because he is a good Christian. You want a newspaper, but it endorsed that Democrat in 1992.”

It seems the sheer research it takes to ensure you haven’t debased yourself would be exhausting. How do you go about preserving political principles and cherished personal values in everyday transactions? How do you go investigate whether a business owner’s politics align with yours? Do you impose those political restrictions on your kids?

Or, do you cut corners?

For instance, it’s easy to proclaim you won’t visit North Carolina or Arizona over some political issue, but what about Idaho?

Do the purists withhold their dollars from that mecca of outdoor recreation because it still allows for discrimination against the LGBT community? Have they put the lake place up for sale? No more skiing or hiking there? Or, have they struck some bargain with their conscience to allow the fun to continue?

“OK, I’ll still go to Sandpoint, but I’m never going back to the Outer Banks of North Carolina!”

THE PROPOSITION. This week’s question relates to the above. Do you live your politics daily? Is it all politics all the time, or are you able to switch it off? Are you able to hold true to your values and maintain diverse relationships? Or is Thanksgiving a guaranteed food fight?

Send me an email with your name and the town where you currently reside. Contact information is at the end of this column. Please be brief.

And, thanks for not canceling your subscription.

EDITORIAL BOARD. The Spokesman-Review’s editorial board has gained a new member, John Webster, who is the newspaper’s editorial operations manager. Before moving into that role, he was the editorial page editor.

Welcome aboard, John.

Opinion Editor Gary Crooks can be reached at garyc@spokesman.com or (509) 459-5026. Follow him on Twitter @GaryCrooks.