that is the year I was born.
Yeah, I know, I'm four days older than dirt!
There are a myriad of memories I have from childhood. My brother thinking he could fly like Superman, almost flinging himself off the roof of our porch. Growing up on Cape Cod, I remember hurricanes and being frightened.
What I loved most though, were the debates my father and grandfather had on the politics of the day.
It was a different world.
In fact, I do not remember having a conscious awareness of what political party my parents belonged to. I assumed they were Democrats. By the time I got to junior high, I knew I was liberal. Ninth grade- my boyfriend, who I loved at the time and who obviously didn't know me at all, gave me a book for my birthday. Good choice. I was and still am a reader. But the book was Up From Liberalism by William F. Buckley. Of course I dumped him.
Later in my life I spoke to my father about his politics. He admitted voting for Stevenson. What I remember is how highly my father spoke about Eisenhower. I told him I assumed he voted for Eisenhower because as a family we watched every speech he made. What my father was teaching me was that regardless of political party, one always respected the office of the presidency.
A little digression here: when my dad was 85, he surprised me by saying that W. was intent on getting us into a war. Called him a son of a bitch, but then in his late 80's you were a son of a bitch or an asshole.
I remember the night my aunt called, worrying about my cousin, in his twenties, who was in the South working to register voters. He hadn't called home in awhile and the lynching of civil rights workers was common. My dad never believed a black man could ever be elected president.
Sadly, in October, I will be remembering my parents' deaths- five years ago in a head-on collision. They were at red light, probably arguing like George's parents on Seinfeld. A twenty-one year old, not paying attention, ran into them.
On election might, 2008, my son, who worked with me on the Obama campaign, mentioned how proud my father would have been. There is no doubt in my mind- he would have voted for Obama.
But here's the thing. I am sort of glad my father is not here to see how so many people disrespect this president, and do so overtly.
We might laugh at the birthers, but trying to look at things through my father's eyes, he would not be amused. And when you really think about it, it is really sad because never in all the years I have voted and been involved in politics has a president been hounded until he had to prove that indeed he is a citizen of this country. No, my father would have been appalled.
I am glad he wasn't alive to watch a State of the Union Speech, something we always watched, regardless of who was president. No, I am glad he did not have to hear an elected member of Congress yell, calling the President of the United States a liar.
My father fought in Patton's army and was one of the first troops to come upon Buchenwald, something he refused to talk about. He was against all kinds of intolerance, and I was brought up in a household where all religions and races were welcomed.
I think my dad would have loved the iPad. He caught on to the iPod and mine would disappear whenever I visited. I think my dad would love the idea of blogs. It would have given him an opportunity to be involved with the political discussions and debates he loved so much.
But he would not love DailyKos. I don't think so. Not because of the criticisms of a President. He criticized Clinton for his "sexual behavior." He thought the impeachment thing was a ridiculous waste of time, but he admitted that Clinton probably brought it on himself.
No, I understand why my dad would be appalled at some diaries on this blog. Criticizing and questioning government was good when done with respect. And even though he did not care for George Bush, he would never ever disrespect him.
He would have treated Bush the same way he treated Eisenhower - as his president. And every year on July 4th, he would be waving his flag.
And as I sit here contemplating the deaths of my parents, I understand why so much of the vitriol spewed toward Barack Obama makes me sad. It would have made my father sad. The America he fought for respected the president and the presidency.
And maybe that's why bipartisanship is not such a dirty word to me. Compromise was something we expected of our elected representatives. After all, Eisenhower worked with a Democratic House and Senate to build a highway system. And once I-95 was complete, he relished the drive from the Cape to New York.
Reagan and Tip O'Neil. They also worked well together, though both were miles apart in their political beliefs.
There is something missing from our discourse these days. And maybe I do sound four days older than dirt, but I kind of "got" that cooperation and wish more people would understand it today.
I have a new grandson- my first grandchild. And having spent some time reading diaries and comments, I fear for my grandson's future. I would rather have an Obama, as imperfect as he can be at times, who, though in tiny steps, will move this country forward, rather than an intolerant, narrow minded person slashing my rights as a woman, forcing a specific religion on me, etc.
I wish my father were alive today. He would write a hell of a diary. And he could probably explain why he respected Ike, and why it is important to respect the President and the Presidency.
He would have been 94 this year, and I'm certain he would be ashamed at the disrespect this President has had to endure. But at 94, he would call you, as he did to others in his old age, "sons of bitches bastards."