I am generally not the type to show off my kids pictures, brag about how smart they are, or gush over their accomplishments…especially to strangers.
I have seen quite a few diaries talking about grandmas, grandpas and other elderly and how they are coming around to Obama. So, I couldn’t help sharing the surreal night that I had with my 7yr old son yesterday.
I got home around 5:40 last night and was greeted with hugs from both of my kids. My daughter wanted to show off her Halloween costume (princess, of course) and my son wanted to read me a few pages from the “level one reader” Transformers book that he got over the weekend (yes, we have come a long way since “see spot run”)
We quickly sat down to dinner as my daughter had ballet class that evening. My wife and I started talking about the news of the day. The typical American family. We were carefully talking about the “mob” mentality at McCain & Palin campaign events. We picked our words in an attempt to shield our kids. Part way through the conversation, my son, dropped a bombshell.
Sam stated, “You know, I think some people won’t vote for Obama because his skin is a different color.”
Startled, I replied, “Sam, where did you hear that?”
He said, “umm…nowhere, it is just what I thought.”
My wife asked, “What do you feel about that?”
Sam, “Mom…obviously, it is wrong to do that.”
Wow, was I proud.
That wasn’t the end of it. Chris Matthews was on when I was washing dishes. The crowd behind Matthews was chanting for Obama. My son ran to the TV and joined in with the “Obama!” chant while jumping up and down. When they switched to a clip of McCain, my son boo’ed.
“Sam,” I asked, “Why did you do that?”
He replied, “I don’t like him. His friend said that Americans are whiners. We’re not whiners.”
Holy Crap! He's a 1st grader...
We ended the night by playing with his toy soldiers – a typical liberal college professor pastime. He started singing America the Beautiful…one of the songs for his school’s Veteran’s Day concert. Like I said, surreal.
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Since Sam said that it is wrong to vote based on a person’s skin color, I thought it appropriate to write a diary with what I think is wrong -
It is wrong for a leader to not confront a supporter when he calls for the death of an American.
It is wrong for a leader to attack a rival when he is grieving the death of his mother-in-law.
It is wrong for a leader to claim that her rival “pals around with terrorists” when members of her own party say it simply isn’t true.
It is wrong for a leader to demand the spotlight and derail bipartisan negotiations during a time of crisis.
It is wrong for a leader to call for bi-partisanship and deride his opponents in the same breath.
It is wrong for a leader to call for quickly building nuclear power plants while deriding his rival for wanting those plants to be safe.
It is wrong for a leader to joke about bombing a country and calling for invading 6 nations in the past 7 years.
It is wrong for a leader to not confront a supporter that yells that an American Presidential Candidate is guilty of treason.
It is wrong for a leader to not issue a statement condemning a supporter that tells an African-American cameraman to, “Sit down, boy.”
It is wrong for a leader to disparage Americans that unselfishly help others as a community organizer.
It is wrong for a leader to celebrate destroying the environment by chanting, “Drill, Baby, Drill!” only after selling out to the oil industry’s campaign donations.
It is wrong for a leader to go through three hours of debates and not once mention the middle class.
It is wrong for a leader to not confront a supporter when he calls an American Presidential Candidate a terrorist.
It is wrong for a leader to portray a rival’s words supporting soldiers into a sound bite that claims the opposite.
It is wrong for a leader to say that he voted against pork to study bear DNA when he voted for it.
It is wrong for a leader to rail against lobbyists when his campaign leadership is composed almost entirely of them.
It is wrong for a leader to embrace politics of the ‘Religious Right’ in order to win an election only a short time after calling them “Agents of Intolerance.”
It is wrong for a leader to run a campaign based on fear, anger, and deception instead of ideas.