Rejoice with me tonight, for I have converted my 87 year old Reagan Democrat mother into a vote for Hillary.
Four years ago I moved back to the town I grew up in to be closer to my mom who was having health issues. We typically go out for fish dinner on Friday and in the four years I have been back conversations about politics or world events are subjects that have long been taken off the table. She told me pointedly that there was no use in discussing any of it because one, talking about it doesn’t solve any problem and two, she wasn’t going to change her mind.
Tonight was different. I don’t know if she has softened lately because of the care I provided to her this summer after she suffered a compression fracture. Perhaps, she finally realized that her little girl is now a sixty-one year old woman who has devoted a great deal of time and effort to become informed about the world-that she might learn something from me. Whatever the reason, tonight she listened.
We talked about black men who are sentenced to the death penalty for having a car broken down on a roadway. And young boys gunned down on a playground for playing how boys do. We talked about how the men who used to protect and serve now seem to look for a reason to arrest you, ticket you, harass you. We talked about how deeply I felt about SB1070 (Arizona’s Papers Please law) in that 8 of my grandchildren are part Hispanic. We talked about refugees, whose only hope is to escape violence and provide safety for their children-the lucky ones. We talked about Trump’s ugly rhetoric about those children-how they would turn into terrorists. I said that this was akin to the old phrase, nits breed lice. He would never say that openly but you know damn well it’s what he’s thinking. He must degrade, insult, humiliate, dehumanize and disparage everyone who does not worship him. We talked about how cynical the Republican party has been since the 1980 election in it’s effort to co-opt the Catholic vote, which then led to a discussion about abortion. We talked about the immigrant experience and being of Irish heritage she knows, she knows, that story. Finally we talked about the options and I pleaded with her not to throw her vote away on a third party candidate. This election is too important. The future of the country her grandchildren and great grandchildren will inherit is too precious to waste. I explained that too much had been made of Hillary’s e-mails and in spite of what she’s heard on FOX, Hillary is whip smart, tough as nails, full of compassion, and prepared for the job more than any before her.
As I was putting on my jacket to leave I asked to her to please, please vote for Hillary and to my astonishment and great joy she said, “don’t worry, I’ll be voting for Hillary…..I will be voting Republican on the rest of the ticket, you know.” I know, Mom. Tonight that’s okay. I’ll keep working on it.