When it comes to making eggs people have a lot of different priorities. I found this out because I often cook eggs for my wife and my family when they happen to visit. My wife hates it if eggs move at all once cooked. They need to have rigamortis set in before she will eat them.
Others in the family like them sunny side up with runny yolks, while others like the yolks hard. Sunny side up eggs, with hard yolks, take awhile to cook.
Others like them over easy or hard. Some like cheese on them, some with peppers mixed in.
Then there are those that are the opposite of my wife who like the whites and the yolks runny. I often wonder why we even put them in the pan.
As my wife says, eggs cooked like that are like “chicken snot.”
And of course there are those that only prefer an omelet with all kinds of good things added in from bacon to peppers to onions. Of course it depends if they are good- only by one’s point of view.
Hard boiled eggs are usually not breakfast material, although they are nice to have in the fridge in a pinch in case one is late for work one morning and doesn’t have time to make any breakfast. They can be eaten on the run and if some of them are left over they fit well into salads.
Don’t ask me about eggs Benedict, however. I know nothing about how to make that.
Then there are scrambled eggs. If you don’t know what someone wants in an egg you almost can’t miss cooking them this way.
Eggs and politics
I am sure there are some other ways, probably some really good ways to make them that I don’t know about. But the preparations mentioned above make up the majority of the way people like their eggs.
Consequently, while making breakfast the other day it occurred to me that people like their eggs like they like their politics. I don’t mean the Republicans all like their eggs one way or Democrats another. What I mean is, there are all different kinds of politics, and each of us has our own little way of liking or disliking them.
It depends on the issue
What a person likes as a political stand depends on the issue. Some people like their eggs one specific way, and that is equal to those that take a stand in one place on the political spectrum and stick with it no matter what. You know these guys. They are always straight ticket voters and stick with a party regardless of what stand it takes on an issue. These are usually individuals on the fringes of a party and we call them “ultras.” Yep they hang out there on the plate with the bacon. You know, on the edges where, while they are few, they are pesky.
Then there are those that like their eggs one way or another depending on the day. Today they are for runny eggs, and tomorrow they may lean toward a more hard boiled type. These are the indecisive politicos. Don’t mistake them for moderates as the fringes of the parties often do. They like to run or roll off the plate depending on who they are talking too.
Moderates can compromise
Then there is the base of a party, you know the ones that are a bit moderate at times, because they will actually consider compromising, that is of course if the fringes don’t make too much trouble for them. These are the eggs that are over easy with a soft yolk. Yet they still think they have to blend in with their “ultra” counterparts much of the time, hoping someday they can control them.
Then there is those that are non-affiliated. Most of them like eggs many different ways, although in some cases they can be hard boiled as well. In recent times, it seems, this is where many of the moderates hang out, because so many of the other eggs have spread out, maybe even over the edge of the plate. Omelets with lots of different kinds of ingredients in them compare with this group well. It’s not that they sit there in the middle of the plate all the time, they just have varied views that often range from conservative to liberal, depending on how the eggs are made.
Okay, that about covers everyone. I know I left out the Neo-Nazis on one end and the Marxists on the other. But the category of eggs is pretty large, and like I said I don’t know how to make all of them, nor do I even know about them. And for me it is the same with politics.
We can get along
This all came from the fact that not only does my extended family like eggs many different ways, but our political views vary a great deal too. Yet somehow we all seem to get along without trying to damage each other. If someone says how much they like Trump, others that don’t keep their mouths closed (often full of eggs). Those that make cracks about Trump often draws a snicker or two, but the supporters seldom take issue with what was said.
There was a book recently published called “Hank and Jim.” It is about the near lifelong relationship of two of the most loved actors of the 20th century, Henry Fonda and Jimmy Stewart. It tells the tale of how two young actors met and remained friends despite their totally opposite political leanings. Much has been made of this over the years because Stewart was a lifelong conservative Republican and Fonda a died-in-the-wool liberal Democrat. It seems, somehow, they had the formula for getting it right by respecting each other for their views, and never denigrating each other. They made their eggs in such a fashion that while their political leanings were different they still could get along on the same plate. Because of it they got things done, together.
Just how those that run our government can do that without calling each other names and terming everyone that doesn’t hold their view an enemy, I am not sure. We have gone down a road where when people think they are right, there is no room for other views. Unfortunately, that is not the kind of thinking our country was built on. Dissent is an important part of our process, just as adding the right ingredients to a omelet is. And sometimes, if the minority throw in a few habaneros when the eggs are being made, we need to respect that. A constitutional republic needs all views and all views should be respected.
So the next time you are cooking eggs (or politics) consider what I have said. It is important to take suggestions on how things should turn out in the end, when it is served on the plate.
Bon Appetit
A hardboiled approach to politics can sometimes lead to a scrambled society
Rick Shaw