It Rests In Your Hands

I am uneasy this election season because it matters more than ever in my lifetime, and because it rests in the hands of young and first time voters. It rests in the hands of the generation that can't be polled. The generation that has grown up always owning a cell phone. And I hope you know that it's your future we're talking about if you are of that generation. We are at a tipping point. Maybe we have passed it, I'm not sure. I grew up knowing that the first time I voted I was really an adult. It was a right of passage. It was a responsibility. I took it seriously. But I grew up in a family that talked about politics. It was a topic of conversation at the dinner table. So was religion, and the right to question, the obligation to be skeptical, and need to learn. I learned these lessons and when I encountered compromise on questions of political principle I was indignant. I was a fierce critic of my father's having taken a loyalty oath in order to keep his teaching job. This oath grew out of the McCarthy era and in order to teach one had to vow on a bible that one had never been a member of the communist party so help you God. There are two things wrong with that. It stomps on two constitutionally guaranteed rights. This is also what is so horribly wrong with the hysteria concerning gay marriage. In the land of liberty we want to say that certain of our citizens are not guaranteed the same rights as every other citizen? This is UNCONSTITUTIONAL! Those of you under thirty are probably the least racist and homophobic demographic in our culture. We're counting on you. Vote. It's important.