I'm visiting my grandmother in Virginia for Christmas, and since I'm from California the inevitable Politics Conversation ensued, complete with a You Kids Are Sending This Country To Hell In A Handbasket talk. But it's not really what I expected. For example, one quote from my Grandma:

"I feel like the country is becoming much more intolerant; these big churches today with their own schools and hospitals scare the heck out of me."

You might think I'd be happy to have a Grandma that agrees with my political leanings, but actually I'm terrified:

One of the few things that keeps me sane is my belief that, long-term, the world is becoming more progressive, even though there are short-term conservative trends. To hear someone with an 85-year perspective say that things are getting worse is basically my deepest fear realized.

(Grandma would want you to know that this isn't her in the picture; she's a much younger-looking 85 than this.)