My parents are die-hard Republicans. I had purposely not talked to either of them about the election because I didn't want to hear they were voting for McCain, even though I knew they were. (And they won't even discuss it - that conversation is not happening.) So when my mother called me yesterday morning and asked how I was, I said I was pretty happy because of the election results. She said she wasn't and we proceeded to have a rather unfriendly conversation that ended with her saying we just shouldn't talk about these things - as she always does.
When I saw Daywalker's diary, The Most Beautiful Pictures I've Seen So Far I was inspired to write this to my mother.
Hi Mom,
I hope you're feeling less sad & scared - time will tell of course whether Obama helps or hurts this country. No one knows what kind of president Obama will be yet, although I have a lot of hope that he'll do well. I can tell you that I'm very much NOT afraid he's going to send my hard-earned money to people who never worked a day in their lives (who are those people anyway? Do you know any of them? There might be a tiny minority in this country who get by without working somehow, but most people work, and work hard - and nowadays more and more of them are working hard but still slipping further into poverty. I did some Get Out the Vote phone calls for Obama into North Carolina and talked to people who told me things like "Three of the people in our family are out of work now and can't find a job," and "I had $500,000 in my retirement account and it's dropped to $190,000" and a friend talked to a man who said in his area, there used to be jobs paying $15-$18/hour; now nothing pays more than minimum wage. So the suffering is real.)
Anyway, this is a set of pictures from the rally in Grant Park where Obama gave his victory speech, and it brought tears to my eyes - it's quite beautiful in what it says about what this election gives everyone in this country -- I think it goes a great distance toward healing our generations-old racial wounds -- no matter how you feel about Obama's politics. Check it out - it's cute little boys, you won't see any images of Obama. (If you feel about him the way I feel about George Bush, I know you'd rather not see his face!):
http://img205.imageshack.us/...
http://img260.imageshack.us/...
http://img139.imageshack.us/...
http://img339.imageshack.us/...
Mom - just one more thing. I remember so clearly you, when I was a little girl, telling me never to judge someone until I had walked a mile in their shoes. You taught me that. You taught me compassion for those who are less fortunate or weaker or unable to care for themselves. And so your statement when we talked yesterday came as a surprise to me. It didn't sound like the loving woman I've always known, and it hurt to hear it. I think it was coming from the fear you feel right now (and believe me, I really do know what that feels like. I felt it in 2000, and it was twice as bad in 2004 because my fears around Bush's first term had been justified and then some), and not from your true heart. At least, I choose to believe that - and I hope you'll forgive me my anger and hostility toward you around these topics. I know I speak rudely and aggressively. It's not right, and I'm sorry.
Love,
Your liberal socialist daughter