Please Vote!
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Simon is voting in his first election today. It's the first presidential election to come his way since he turned 18 and I have insisted he register and vote. I helicopter parented all over him to register, finally printing the registration form myself, filled it out and all but forged his signature.
I saved a section of the weekend paper a couple of weeks ago that outlined the issues and contained a sample ballot. He's asked me some good questions over time. I'm strong on social issues but usually refer Simon to Mr. Brainiac Political Science Major, Steve, for other specific issues, especially foreign policy.
I've forwarded text messages from President Obama to Simon's phone - but that was really just to annoy Simon for fun. (I've been calling Barack Obama, President Obama, for a few weeks now - and stated on my calendars for today, "Elect President Obama". How's that for positive imagery?)
Steve and I always hit the polls on the way to work, usually quite early. Today we for sure want to be there at 6:00 when they open, in case there's a line. Simon is going with us - which he is accomplishing by staying up all night. He drives me cuckoo with his crazy hours but I guess it works for his life for now. He says if he doesn't go with us, he probably will procrastinate and not vote at all today. I have zero doubt he's right.
I finally figured out a way to explain to Simon why voting in a presidential election is so important to me. I've never missed one since I could vote. I used to take Simon into the booth with me, when he was little. He seems to vaguely remember it. I must have hoped something would sink in through osmosis.
I don't even feel this strongly about drugs and alcohol because those are phases almost everyone goes through to some degree. (Don't get me wrong - I do care about those issues, but in a different way.) Here are the three (for now) big things I care deeply about as life decisions:
Never smoke cigarettes.
Always recycle.
Always vote in presidential elections.
(I only vote for local candidates if I feel well enough informed. I'm working on becoming a better voter locally, but it's the president I always vote for. And propositions.)
Btw, even I didn't know I felt this strongly about voting until A) there's a candidate I care strongly about, B) Simon reached voting age. It's kind of surprised even me.
Is Simon's heart in this 100%? No, not really. But he's realized how important it is to me so he's smart enough to go along with it and not say stupid things to me. I have promised him, that no matter how little he thinks he feels about it, when he steps out of that voting booth, he'll feel good. And important.
.
Simon is voting in his first election today. It's the first presidential election to come his way since he turned 18 and I have insisted he register and vote. I helicopter parented all over him to register, finally printing the registration form myself, filled it out and all but forged his signature.I saved a section of the weekend paper a couple of weeks ago that outlined the issues and contained a sample ballot. He's asked me some good questions over time. I'm strong on social issues but usually refer Simon to Mr. Brainiac Political Science Major, Steve, for other specific issues, especially foreign policy.
I've forwarded text messages from President Obama to Simon's phone - but that was really just to annoy Simon for fun. (I've been calling Barack Obama, President Obama, for a few weeks now - and stated on my calendars for today, "Elect President Obama". How's that for positive imagery?)
Steve and I always hit the polls on the way to work, usually quite early. Today we for sure want to be there at 6:00 when they open, in case there's a line. Simon is going with us - which he is accomplishing by staying up all night. He drives me cuckoo with his crazy hours but I guess it works for his life for now. He says if he doesn't go with us, he probably will procrastinate and not vote at all today. I have zero doubt he's right.
I finally figured out a way to explain to Simon why voting in a presidential election is so important to me. I've never missed one since I could vote. I used to take Simon into the booth with me, when he was little. He seems to vaguely remember it. I must have hoped something would sink in through osmosis.
I don't even feel this strongly about drugs and alcohol because those are phases almost everyone goes through to some degree. (Don't get me wrong - I do care about those issues, but in a different way.) Here are the three (for now) big things I care deeply about as life decisions:
Never smoke cigarettes.
Always recycle.
Always vote in presidential elections.
(I only vote for local candidates if I feel well enough informed. I'm working on becoming a better voter locally, but it's the president I always vote for. And propositions.)
Btw, even I didn't know I felt this strongly about voting until A) there's a candidate I care strongly about, B) Simon reached voting age. It's kind of surprised even me.
Is Simon's heart in this 100%? No, not really. But he's realized how important it is to me so he's smart enough to go along with it and not say stupid things to me. I have promised him, that no matter how little he thinks he feels about it, when he steps out of that voting booth, he'll feel good. And important.
~ ~ ~
Updated to add: We arrived at the polls at 5:45 and were 4th in line. By the time we left there were probably 50 people in line. We explained to Simon that this is an exceptionally high turnout, as predicted. We were home by 6:15.
And to absolutely no one's surprise, I got a little teary on the drive home. It was 30% because I was proud of Simon for voting. The other 70% is that while I voted for the candidate I wanted based on issues, I'm very taken by the fact that I got to vote for an African American for president. I retold him my "Whites Only" story. I told him how women's rights came to the forefront when I was his age. These major cultural changes have happened in what I call Recent History. It blows me away.
And to absolutely no one's surprise, I got a little teary on the drive home. It was 30% because I was proud of Simon for voting. The other 70% is that while I voted for the candidate I wanted based on issues, I'm very taken by the fact that I got to vote for an African American for president. I retold him my "Whites Only" story. I told him how women's rights came to the forefront when I was his age. These major cultural changes have happened in what I call Recent History. It blows me away.
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Labels: Life Update, What I'm Working On
posted by Stefani at 5:12 AM
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7 Comments:
Both of my daughters voted in the primary, but this will be their first presidential election. Leigh registered in Delhi so she wouldn't have to vote via absentee ballot. Both girls are strong Obama supporters - real chips off the old block!
I've been thinking how our parents would feel if they were alive today. An African American and a woman running for President and VP. My mother-in-law would say "I don't watch colored people on TV" when we would mention the Flip Wilson Show! Our mothers and grandmothers lived in a time when women were not allowed to vote. Our eternal thanks to Susan B and all the women who made it possible for women to vote.
I'm working in FL this week and getting the reports as people come into the office. They had early voting here (even extended the hours to accommodate those lines) and still there are 50-100 people in line to vote. I'm very excited about the level of voter turnout. (BTW, I voted by absentee ballot last week.)
Steve has a savant thing with dates relative to other dates. He heard Simon and me talking this morning and helped put it in perspective that when I was born (1956) women had only had the right to vote for 36 years.
Pres. elect Obama is NOT an African American. As Whoppi Goldberg always says not all blacks are from Africa. And certainly not Obama. So I guess that means we go back to saying black, though I prefer American. :-)
I know, I know, Bonnie. When "African American" first hit our language I had a problem with it not always being specifically accurate. Guess I got used to it over time.
Black isn't accurate either. Browns? "Of color"? Everyone is some color.
In this case, I'll stick with President-elect, then President Obama. :-)
Well, I dunno -- since his father was from Kenya, that should let him call himself African-American.
I worked with a guy who enjoyed calling himself African-American -- he was white and people would think he was English because of his accent but when they would ask if he was from England he would say "No, I'm African-American" -- because he had moved to the U.S. from Zimbabwe. Thus he was African and now he was a U.S. citizen, so that made him African-American.
Good for you for encouraging Simon to vote. I can remember my parents bringing us with them when they voted. They (and the other adults in our community) treated it as a major event. My father would put on a suit to vote -- he was a steam-fitter when I was a kid and obviously did not dress that way for work -- but it underscored how important an event it was.
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