Do the right thing!
Thirty-eight years ago, my dad got on a U.S. Army C130 and landed in Vietnam with his M-16 to fight a war that most people didn't particularly care for, and most believed was largely unnecessary. He did this because his country needed him, and he answered it's call. He returned home the following year to get a job, get married, have two kids, and build a life for his family. Now, maybe he went because he really believed in his country. Maybe he thought it'd be a good career choice. Maybe he just had nothing better to do. The fact remains that he spent a year in Southeast Asia in a stinking hellhole of a country, fighting an unpopular war, because he thought it was the right thing to do, and in doing so, he defended the rights that we have as Americans, including the right that we're being asked to exercise today.
Over the past few weeks, life in our house has been . . . interesting. My dad, a registered Independent, is an ardent McCain/Palin supporter. Although he doesn't identify with any one political party, he's conservative in his politics, and it's a natural choice for him. I, a registered Independent, am an Obama/Biden supporter, and I've always leaned to more liberal points of view. Since the presidential race has heated up, the issues have become bigger and bigger topics of conversation. Within the past week or so, it's gotten to the point where, for the first time, my father and I have actually argued over politics. He's always cared about politics; however, this is the first year when I've gotten involved enough to have formed my own opinions, and they're strong enough for me to voice and defend, rather than just accept what the old man has to say.
But today, another first happened - my dad and I got in the car together, drove to the elementary school, and exercised one of the Constitutional rights that he fought for in the jungles of Vietnam nearly forty years ago. I'm sure that our votes cancelled each other out, but we did it, and we did it together.
I don't always agree with the old man. On politics, on baseball, on a lot of things. But I respect him, and I love him, and I'm proud of him.
And I'm glad we're Americans.
Over the past few weeks, life in our house has been . . . interesting. My dad, a registered Independent, is an ardent McCain/Palin supporter. Although he doesn't identify with any one political party, he's conservative in his politics, and it's a natural choice for him. I, a registered Independent, am an Obama/Biden supporter, and I've always leaned to more liberal points of view. Since the presidential race has heated up, the issues have become bigger and bigger topics of conversation. Within the past week or so, it's gotten to the point where, for the first time, my father and I have actually argued over politics. He's always cared about politics; however, this is the first year when I've gotten involved enough to have formed my own opinions, and they're strong enough for me to voice and defend, rather than just accept what the old man has to say.
But today, another first happened - my dad and I got in the car together, drove to the elementary school, and exercised one of the Constitutional rights that he fought for in the jungles of Vietnam nearly forty years ago. I'm sure that our votes cancelled each other out, but we did it, and we did it together.
I don't always agree with the old man. On politics, on baseball, on a lot of things. But I respect him, and I love him, and I'm proud of him.
And I'm glad we're Americans.