I hope that I will remember the election of 2008 as the first of many in which I was engaged. I am more interested in politics, news, candidates and democracy now than I ever have been — by a long shot. I couldn’t vote in 2000; I barely knew what was going on in 2004 and I didn’t really understand what “caucus” meant until about six months ago. I also retained the beliefs of my VERY Republican upbringing until spring 2005, when I studied abroad, and basically everything I had ever thought was turned inside-out, upside-down and subjected to criticism and analysis.

Now, my world is like this: mostly liberal co-workers at a SoCal newspaper; mostly liberal/ambivalent friends. This, after five years at a university and heavy influence of liberal professors. And a few months in ITALY.

I’m not a news freak. I basically just work at a paper, skim the wires, peruse the top e-mailed on The New York Times Web site and try to provoke debate among my co-workers (”So, like, how do you guys feel about Obama’s tax plan?”). I do this because I’m sincerely curious about their beliefs — because mine are still under construction. Lately, I watch The Daily Show too.

But most of all, I e-mail my dad, whose world is like this: second-generation family-owned business, conservative family, country club, heavy Catholic church involvement.

Dad is a terrific Republican. He and his company donate lots of money to Republican causes — including some pretty loud pro-life groups in our hometown, Wichita, Kan. He dislikes taxes, loves the military, is fond of guns and listens to lots of AM talk radio. He works hard and tithes generously. He makes statements that are jaw-droppingly politically incorrect. In addition to a sharp intellect and love of talk, my dad has an abiding — and frequently fierce — love for, and sense of obligation to, his community and family.

One of the most inspirational lines I ever heard was one afternoon when Dad and I were driving in an area of Wichita whose plans for growth were stunted. We were also discussing a new venture his company was getting into that had sky-high possibilities. “If this goes well, Nat,” he said, passing a half-constructed building in a deserted lot, “there is so much we could do for this community.” His first thought at a windfall was not a vacation, or sports car or even jewelry for Mom — but of how he could help his city.

So that’s what I grew up in. I moseyed a little left after Italy, but the journey was (is) painful and fraught with uncertainty.

The e-mails with Dad fuel the journey. I get sassy about rich people; he lambastes government waste. I confess sympathy for gay marriage; he offers profound (and/or offensive) commentary on marriage and family. I try to gain ground with emotional tales of the children I work with; he spins it back at me, then levies tear-jerking words about how he’s proud of me. I ask, ask, ask — Dad, what do you think about evolution and creationism; Dad, what do you think about California raising sales tax; Dad, why are we in Iraq?

I send him links to Frank Rich columns; he urges me to check out Drudge Report. I ask; he answers. Bit by bit, he’s asking too.

I sometimes wonder if a mark of adulthood is realizing in the moment — not just much later — that it’s one you’ll cherish forever. Because right now, something important is going on — in me, as I relate to America, and in how I’ll relate to everything else, ever. I have a stake in Election 2008; I’m a participant; my politics will never be the same.

And in My Beliefs Journey ‘08, Dad is a participant — perhaps THE participant. That, I believe, will prove to be more important than where I end up.

One Response to “Right Wing, Left Wing”

1. Laura W. Says:
   September 9th, 2008 at 9:26 am

   I loved this! Thank you for writing!

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