You will not believe what my in laws did before dinner.

[NNadir]

96. I've been dealing with that sort of thing for decades, not quite as bad though.

There's always a prayer session before dinner at my Sister's-in-law house. (She has the most room to accommodate all of us.)

No pledge of allegiance though.

My sister-in-law is in a kind of religious cult, but what's interesting is that she's a very solid Democrat. After the prayer session, there was a long discussion on what a great President Joe Biden is and what an ass Trump is.

My niece, out of her mother's view, who lives in Texas, but was visiting, was talking about how they're trying to build a pro-choice set of options for women; her roommate is a choice activist.

I learned to be tolerant of it all a long time ago. I was the first person in my large extended family to reject phenomenological Christianity, although certain bits of Christian ethics, particularly with respect to the humanity of the poor, remain with me.

My stepmother is an extremely religious woman, as was my birth mother, and in fact, my father. I loved all three of them very much, even though they had a hard time accepting my religious views. My stepmother is still alive at the age of 95. When my father was dying, I joined her in her prayer session when she really needed it, even though I clearly understood that molecular biology, and not Jesus, was determining my father's fate.

Ultimately, I decided I had no more right to argue my views than they had to argue theirs, even though they always do so. It could only hurt them, and these are people I love. I let them say what they're going to say, and let my lack of a response speak for itself. I, um, "turn the other cheek," and say nothing.