Today my daughter turns eleven.
Wow, it seems like just yesterday that she was born. As a matter of fact, I’ll never forget the day that I found out she had been conceived. November 5th, 1996. Election day. What a day. I was so excited to be voting for the first time and then to find out I was having a child. Actually, that part scared the shit out of me. You see, I hadn’t voted before that day because I wasn’t legally old enough. I had just turned eighteen. Old enough to vote, but way too young to become a father.
I started paying attention to politics at a young age and decided early on that I was a democrat. I was going to vote for Bill Clinton because he was a democrat and he was cooler than the other guy. All of that changed in an instant that day. Not my political persuasion mind you, but the importance of it. Standing in line at my polling location, I realized the true significance of what I was about to do. I wasn’t just voting for my future now. I was voting for the future of my child. This realization made me think about other aspects of my life as well. I thought about my girlfriend, now my wife. I thought about my parents and their healthcare. I wondered what kind of reaction they were going to have when they found out they were going to be grandparents. I thought about my friends. I thought about college and whether or not I was still going to be able to go. And then I thought about the challenger in the election, Bob Dole. I freaked out. I couldn’t get to the voting machine quick enough to cast my ballot for Bill Clinton, and it no longer had anything to do with him being cool.
Thankfully, even though Clinton lost my state, he won the election that year. My daughter doesn’t remember much about him though. She was three when he left office. Most of her life has been spent under the umbrella of the current administration. What a shame. She doesn’t pay much attention to it though. Actually, she’ll tell you that she doesn’t like politics because it takes TV time away from more important things, like Hannah Montana and her Wii games. She does want Obama to win though. She simply thinks McCain is just too old. I told her that I agree with her, but there’s more important reasons to support Obama over McCain. At that point I think she tunes me out and I start to sound like Charlie Brown’s teacher. I wouldn’t want it any other way. She’s eleven. She needs to enjoy her childhood and let me worry about her future. And worry I do.
If the next President serves two terms, she will be 19 when they leave office. Hopefully, in her Sophomore year of college. The kind of country and the kind of life that awaits her is so dependent on this election. Think about that. Think about America 2016 after a McCain administration and then think about America 2016 after an Obama administration. Think about the world. I have been.
When I hear about these PUMA (party unity my ass) people say they’ll never vote for Barack Obama, I get irate. Don’t any of these people have children. Don’t any of them care about the future. Talk about cutting their nose to spite their face. When I hear liberals say they won’t vote for Obama now because of the stance that he has taken on FISA, it almost brings me to tears.
This diary is not meant to be a rallying cry. It is my attempt to express to you what motivates me. My daughter thinks that her birthday presents this year are a pool party and a new video game. She’s partially right. The real gift that I’m giving though, is my commitment to her to do everything that I can to make this country and this world the best it’s ever been.
Cross posted on my site