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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Lifestyle
Eleanor Gordon-Smith

How do I talk to my conservative grandsons who dismiss my politics as fuzzy thinking?

Vassily Maximov - Grandma's Tales
‘We spend a lot of time dissecting politics in terms of beliefs … but I think a neglected part of our political differences is whether we know how these things feel,’ writes Eleanor Gordon-Smith. Painting: Grandma’s Tales by Vassily Maximov (1867). Photograph: Painters/Alamy

How do I talk to grown grandsons who have different political beliefs and dismiss mine as fuzzy thinking, since I am old?

They are conservative and believe
they “pulled themselves up by their bootstraps”. They didn’t. They had parents and family and help with university. They are lovely men and kind to me, but I cannot converse with them on the issues of the day.

They have had setbacks, but nothing that makes them realise how very difficult life can be. I want to tell them that they cannot always control life, and also that I disagree with them. What can I say?

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