A New President...

I have gotten seriously behind in my effort to keep this up for my boys, and I am going to try to do much better. Take note, my boys, when you read this later, you will thank me for making you do your homework even if you hated it at the time. Life lessons, kiddos, life lessons.

So I wanted to put my thoughts down about the inauguration. I have mostly kept my political views confined to my household and a few friends. But I am absolutely thrilled that our new president is Barak Obama. And I am even more thrilled that so many others feel the same. Part of me gets a little bothered by all the anti-O stuff, but that's to be expected in American politics. What I didn't expect was for Nikolas to come home after school (before the election) and tell me that Obama kills babies in mommies tummies. Who teaches their children that? I am guessing it is the same people that still use racial slurs and tell all immigrants to "go back to their own country" without even stopping to think that unless their own family tree has Native American blood, then all of us are immigrants. My boys need to understand that yes, their dad was a refugee to this country. Not by choice, but because he was held prisoner in a concentration camp in Bosnia and that his home and all he had was ruined by a stupid hateful war. That he was beaten daily, had his teeth knocked out with a rifle butt, saw friends beheaded, saw his uncle shot straight to the head, nearly starved, burned with cigarettes, and stabbed. But they will also understand that their dad was brave enough to escape, and take four others with him, only to swim for six hours and cross into Serbia where he could be a little more safe. And most importantly, they will understand that it takes a heck of a man (and some help from God) not to wake up every day and be a bitter, ruined person because of it. Maybe my marriage has changed my views on things and has made me more accepting of people no matter who they are or where they come from. Maybe it was the hate mail I got right after we got married calling me a "foreigner-loving #$#%" and that I should be very scared. And that was only because he was a Bosnian Serb. Maybe it was the realization that there is a bigger power than me, because how else would I have met and married someone from halfway around the globe?

I have never been decidedly Republican or Democrat, I always waited to see what each candidate had to say, did my research, and made the decision that was right for me based on my own core values. It is tough to listen to all the bad things that are being said right now about our new President. It makes me wonder if it is because he is black? If it is because people are scared to change and do things a new way? How will they respond when a woman becomes president? I can't wait for the day. I will instill in my boys, though, to take their right to vote seriously. It is one way for their voice to be heard and for change to happen. Either way, no matter who wins, I will teach them to respect their president. And if their choice doesn't win, there will be another chance in four more years. Who can't love a democracy and a peaceful transfer of power? Sure beats civil war, boys, just ask your dad.