I made a speech in favor of Carter in my 4th grade class in 1980, but by 1984 the local conservatism had sunk in and I was very pro-Reagan.
In 1992 when I could finally vote I waffled forever because I liked Clinton better and agreed with him on more issues but had picked up the attitude that being a Republican was practically a requirement of my faith.
1994 I started splitting my tickets. The government shutdown in 1995 is what finally nudged me over the line into favoring Democrats, and the 2000 election turned me into a yellow-dog Dem.
I was 8 when Reagan was elected. I remember making fun of his name. SOmething about Ronald McDonald.
I was 8 when Reagan was elected. I remember making fun of his name. SOmething about Ronald McDonald.
I remember doing a mock election in grade school and being one of the few kids who voted for Carter. I think they made us stand outside in the rain or something after.
how's Noah?
Meara - insent from DH.
but her 4-year-old came away from the apprearance with the conviction that CARLOS is running for president. He is a firm supporter, by the way.
That's awesomely adorable.
When I was doing the election day get-out-the-vote thing in '04, the fellow I carpooled out with said that his six-year-old daughter had thought long and hard and finally told him that she thought John Kerry ought to be president because otherwise it wasn't fair, since George Bush had already had a turn.
My first real, true memory of political awareness (I knew what presidents were and that we had one and who he was before then, but never whether or not I thought any particular president was competent or a good person) was the day Reagan was shot. Our middle school principal made an overhead announcement while I was in the middle of art class. Some kids gasped, but I remember clearly thinking,
"I should be sad about it, but I don't think I am."
I'd never thought about it at all before, but the more I pondered it that day the more I felt that he definitely didn't deserve to be shot, but on the other hand, if he recovered, he wasn't to be trusted.
Sadly, by the time I became aware enough to make a long solid well-documented list of exactly why he wasn't to be trusted, the bastard was
still fucking President.
t /whackdoodle tangent
Noah's asleep next to me on the couch. He's pretty damn cute. I think I might start referring to him as PneumoNoah.
I remember we were made to watch Reagan being sworn in, and while I never remember my parents talking politics EVER, I remembre not liking him and being mad that my teacher was all "this is an historic day". 4th grade, 9 or 10 yrs old. I hated my 4th grade teacher for that and many other things.
Let me tell you about my commute.
Today I took the CTA home. At the Loyola stop a whole bunch of collage-age kids got on, and two women sat behind me. A few minutes later I feel something brush the side of my head. It felt just like someone running their fingers though my hair. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a woman behind me putting on her coat, so I figured her coat sleeve brushed against my head. That woman got off the train. Then when it was time for me to get off, I looked at the other woman who was sitting behind me. She smiled at me and kept staring at me. Then when I had reached the door and was waiting for it to open, I looked again and she was still smiling and staring at me.
Maybe she did actually run her fingers through my hair. But who does that to strangers on a train?
I remember being aware of some of Reagan's policies because I was writing a report on alternative power sources when he took office. He pulled all the funding for the projects I was researching while I was working on the report.
Then Reagan and James Brady were shot. John Lennon was killed. 6th grade was very sobering for me.
John Lennon getting shot had a big effect on me. I cried myself to sleep.
Reagan, NSM. I was pretty apolitical in high school. (But I did think it sucked what happened to Carter, with the hostages being released hours after Reagan's inauguration....)
