1 of the 2 things we don't talk about...

Politics.

I voted yesterday.

I was raised by my grandmother. Surely she had political views, but she didn't put them on display. The only things I knew about her politics were that she adored Teddy Roosevelt. When her family was not allowed to attend school because they were Italian - Roosevelt personally wrote to the school district and informed them that immigrants were allowed the same educational opportunities as all Americans. She (and her various brothers/sisters/cousins) went to school! And, after Nixon resigned she was heartbroken and said she was through voting. Other than that, I really didn't have a clue whether she was Republican or Democrat. What I do remember is that she never, ever, told anyone how she voted - she considered a "secret ballot" to be secret.

This morning I got to wondering about when I had any kind of 'political' sense. I kind of figured it out.

In the fifth grade, leading up to election day, we had various debates in class - with each of us having to speak as if we were one of the candidates. We didn't get to choose our candidates - we had to pull them out of a hat. We researched what our particular candidate believed and then, based on that, we had a debate with our opponent.

Here's what I remember about that. I researched both my candidate and my opponent. I found that my ideas of how life should be were much more closely aligned with those of my opponent! It made for a less than lively debate. And... when the class voted - I lost. But, I learned valuable information about myself... I have to be true to my ideals. It is impossible for me to spout beliefs that are not mine.

I think that's a good thing!