Second Negative

Land that I love

This is the first in an occasional series of articles written by Nicole, the blonde genius that taught me how to use note cards. She has her own views (some stuck to the back of her car) and I’m presenting them here completely unedited. As always, thanks for reading.

The upcoming presidential debate got me thinking about my grandpa. I know he’s going to be sitting in the den with my grandma tonight, glued to their set. My grandpa came from England to Canada on the Queen Mary as a child. In 1964 he moved to California. He enrolled in a class to become a U.S. citizen but never pursued it further. Even though my grandpa’s national colors were red and white, sans blue, you’d never have guessed it. He loves America! He loves living in this country! In their home, in Arizona, he had the flag put in their courtyard. I’m not talking about the bracket you attach to a roof either. My grandparents have a full size mast in their yard, like the kind you see at banks and schools. That flag is raised early every morning and lowered at sunset. It flies half mast on September 11th. He even has a little flag for his lawn mower on July fourth.

My grandpa may be patriotic but he does not blindly support decisions made in this country. One month before his sixty-ninth birthday this year, my grandma and grandpa got up before the sun was out and drove to Phoenix to stand in line. That afternoon, April 30, 2004, my grandpa was sworn in as a U.S. citizen. He donned a beret covered in American flags, in celebration! We were talking a few weeks before he took the test. I was interviewing him for a government paper I was writing on my political socialization. I asked him why after 40 years he was finally doing it. His answer was simple, Bush. He couldn’t sit there any longer watching choices be executed that he didn’t endorse. He wanted to become a part of the process.

It is so important in this election that everyone get fired up enough to get involved. Get inspired by your disdain for our current leader, or God help us, your love for him. Get inspiration from my grandpa! I don’t care so long as you’re at the polls November 2nd.