The Assignment

I just want to say in advance that I have not decided who I will vote for to be our next President.

The other day, I gave Chris and Kate an assignment. I told them that they had to listen to the speeches of the Presidental nominees from each party, then we're going to sit down and talk about it. When the kids told Greg about their "assignment" he rolled his eyes and laughed. He acted like that was the stupidest idea he had ever heard.

Honestley, giving my kids this assignment was meant to teach them to listen, then decide. When it comes to politics, especially Presidental or National Politics to many of us say: "...well, I'm a Democrat." or "...I'm a Republican." Really? Well do you really know how "your party" feels about certain issues? Maybe your opinion isn't as close to "your" party as you thought. I'm not saying that I'm completely innocent, but I try to be informed. No matter how depressed it makes me.

I have a friend (you know who you are) that completely votes down party lines. Well, I don't think that's the way the "framers" of the Constitution intended us to vote. But maybe I'm wrong. This friend and I always have friendly debates about this every autumn. I just feel that we were given the right to vote, but not vote blindly. Truth be known, I don't think my friend votes blindly, but I have to have something to argue about.

So, Barak Obama is accepting his party's nomination tonight, and I can't wait to watch it with my kids. I find it intresting that 45 years (to the day) after Dr. Martin Luther King gave his "I Have A Dream" speech, an African American man will accept the nomination of a major political party by narrowly beating out a woman. I don't know who has earned my vote, but I think that's something that I want see.

So tonight, my kids will complete half of their assignment, and I'm really intrested to hear what they think about things. Since their my children I'm sure that they'll have some pretty strong opinions about things.