The new normal

[rhu]

A few years ago, I was mildly freaked out at the fact that my kids' earliest baseball memory was of the Red Sox winning the World Series, and how that was going to establish their expectation of how the world works.

Today, I realized that my kids' earliest memory of a presidential election will be (we expect) of an African-American winning the Oval Office.

To us, it's historic. To them, it's just how the world works.

Comments

[jedusor.livejournal.com]

When I was thirteen and my brother Clayton was ten, I mentioned something about homophobia, and he asked what I meant. I explained, and he just couldn't get it through his head. "Some people don't like gay people? But why? What's wrong with being gay?"

[vettecat.livejournal.com]

G-d willing...

[jadelennox]

gratuitous icon comment

[qaqaq.livejournal.com]

That is excellent. Of course, if this election does get stolen somehow, they'll see how the world HAS been working.

[lucretia-borgia.livejournal.com]

Gideon came home the other night (last night?) explaining that McCain was cheating on the election. He didn't hear this from us, but from another boy in his class. Yes, I explained the issues to him, but was somewhat surprised that the idea had come up in the first grade.

It may well be (sorry, I'm in cynical mode, have you noticed?) that our kids' first election memory is not of a Black man in the White House, but of troops teargassing protesters.