I've never been a die-hard Sony fan (my loyalty is buried with Sega), but I think their patience will pay off in the end. Nintendo has always relied on gimmicks, and the Wii is no exception. For all the hype about its 'innovation', it's basically a souped-up Power Glove, and about as accurate. Sure, it's fun for the first few times, but pretty soon you realize that the graphics have not improved one bit from the GameCube, the tennis player makes the same two swings no matter what you do with the controller (which can't even sense what direction you are facing), and Link only has a vertical and horizontal attack no matter how you try to swing the 'sword'. The PS3's six-axis controller, while not as flashy, actually has the potential to be a lot more precise, which will be tested when Lair comes out. The only people I know who got a Wii bought it just for parties, or for their kids. The real gamers are biding their time hoping for another price drop and waiting until Devil May Cry 4, Tekken 6, Final Fantasy XIII, Heavenly Sword, and God of War 3 (!!!) are released. Then we'll really see.

Though the LW does sound like an overzealous undergrad freshman, as many others have pointed out, he does inadvertently raise an interesting point: what does it mean to 'love' one's family when they are not at all the kind of people we would associate with otherwise?

In a sense, this is just as good a definition of family as any other: a group of people with whom you associate by default and not by choice. I don't think there are many people in the world who would actually CHOOSE to associate with their families if they were to start from a blank slate. So don't feel bad in that respect.

First of all, it is entirely unreasonable to expect to agree with your parents or have similar tastes, given that they grew up in an entirely different era under different circumstances. Granted, one generation does not make as great a difference, but would you immediately condemn most people born before the 20th century (including Wagner and Shakespeare) as vile, immoral racists?

Secondly, it is not even reasonable to expect to LIKE your parents, as you have had many years to notice every single one of their annoying flaws in close quarters, and they have had as many years to get on your nerves. That's fine too.

However, it is precisely because of these two things that there is something to be said for the default state of affairs. Most people simply accept the above statements as facts of life and move on. Chalk it up to inertia if you want to be cynical about it, but barring some extreme circumstances like parents who are abusive or who aggressively try to force their views on you, it usually just isn't worth the effort and disturbance it would take to break it off with them. Because trust me, while you may see it as a completely rational move, they most certainly will not (especially not if they're Republicans!)

But surely there is more to it than that. Allow me to add a personal note. My mom is a Russian immigrant with an engineering education who believes in some vague notion of a God, 'supports' Israel, and voted for GWB; I am a humanities grad student who reads this site often (enough said). And yet, there are things that bind us and ways in which we are similar that simply cannot be boiled down to a bullet-point list. The way we both crack up watching Seinfeld or Curb Your Enthusiasm. The way she understood Portnoy's Complaint when I gave it to her to read. The way she is able to understand and even predict my anxieties, and relate stories from her own childhood that mirror mine. There is nothing particularly sentimental about these things - they are simply the result of having the same genetic material and being raised and influenced by someone for 20 years. And it is these things that really 'make' a 'person', not political orientations, which, while certainly important, are not very indicative because (as Cary has pointed out) the same affiliation can be held for any number of personal reasons.

What I gather from your letter is that you feel you have no such bond with your parents, which is unfortunate. Perhaps you have been so fixated on a few aspects that you haven't looked for such common ground. After all, you must have gotten the intelligence you have (or think you have) that has allowed you to come to your current beliefs from SOMEWHERE, right? Surely at least a few hints of it can be found in your parents.

But perhaps I'm wrong and this is indeed a result of a rigid Republican blue-collar ethic on your parents' part (work hard, raise a family, and spend your spare time at the local pub/church group, without bothering to build deeper personal connections). In this case, you really shouldn't feel bad about having no feelings towards them. Nevertheless, I would advise you not to break off contact with them, if only for the sake of that material obligation you mentioned. It's not like it would change their views; if anything, it would only make them stronger (damn libs brainwashed my kid!). And really, it's not that hard to maintain minimal contact, calling every once in a while or dropping by for a home cooked meal. If anything, sometimes it's a useful break from being around people you want to associate with (and must therefore try to impress) all the time.

One final note: I would strongly recommend actually making some decent Republican friends or acquaintances (yes, such people do exist!), if only for the sake of sharpening your own views and arguments or learning how the other side thinks. Because right now you sound like you're just parroting talking points, and that's never a good thing.