9 Year Olds and Politics

Dylan and I had our first meaningful political conversation this evening. He was flipping the channels in the living room while I was nearby in the kitchen cooking dinner (Charles was at band practice and Alyssa was in the back room). He came to MTV, which he sometimes tries to sneak at watching things I deem inappropriate for his age, like Real World or many of the videos. This time there was an interviewer asking questions of John Kerry. I waited for Dylan to change the station, but he listened intently for 15 minutes. Afterward, he asked me about John Kerry and about the war in Iraq, since Kerry had been asked about his goals for reducing our presence in Iraq and doing more nation-building to get other countries involved in the process. Dylan said he didn't understand a lot of it, but wanted to know why there was a war in Iraq, why we had soldiers dying there, who sent them there, what a president does, is the President our ruler, why we have weapons of mass destruction here but get mad at other countries for having them (his words, not mine - but hey, nice question, kid!), do I think President Bush lied to us and other countries so that he could send soldiers and be in a war with Iraq, what are laws, who makes them, how do you vote, how often can you vote, who is in charge, and on and on. I tried to point out to him whenever I was giving my OPINION and told him that I read lots of things and stay informed before I develop my opinions. I also told him other people can and do have different opinions than I have, and that's okay, that's the beauty of our country. We have the freedom to have opinions. We have the freedom to make choices and vote. I told him if there's anything I encourage most in him it is to be informed and to take a stand on things he feels strongly about once he understand them, but to always respect that other people are allowed their opinions too. I told him he does not even have to agree with me, as long as he learns about the things he is taking a position on and knows why he holds those opinions and why he is voting for someone when he is old enough to vote. I was SO IMPRESSED with my son. He just turned 9 yesterday. Somedays he is a confused, selfish boy who doesn't care about anything in the world except what's cool to wear to school. Then he amazes me with his insightfulness and intelligence and way of looking at the world and trying to understand complex things. I love watching him develop into a "person" and I can't wait to see who he becomes. Tonight was a great parenting moment, one that I'll remember forever.