On politics, and kids, and open-mindedness

I just finished an insanely hot, sweaty, miserable 35 minute run. But that isn't what I want to talk about today.

I went to Saturday's Astros game with Preston and probably our best couple-friends. They have two beautiful kids, and the wife, let's call her "Tina" (not her real name), was talking about how they need to go to the Alamo soon so that her son can see it for the first time. She was born and raised out-of-state, and she was telling me about how she saw the imax movie about the Alamo and how special it made the experience for her. As a non-Texan, she didn't understand before she saw the movie. I mean, the Texans lost, right?

All of that led her to say that they didn't even really cover the Civil War in school in the state where she grew up. That up there, they think all of it was about slavery. And that they are all Democrats.

This is where she lost me. I mean, the jump from Texas Independence to the Civil War was huge, but she was using it to make the point that if that state didn't care about the Civil War, then they surely didn't care about Texas. I got that. But that they were all Democrats??? Now, I'm not declaring allegiance to one political party or the other. Ever. I consider myself an independent thinker, and I vote for whomever I believe to be the best candidate for the job. So, with that full disclosure out of the way, does she honestly believe that Democrats don't believe in history? Or teach a biased view of history? Or believe the Civil War was only about slavery? Or don't care about Texas?? I had no words. I continue to have no words.

But I was thinking about it on my run, and it made me really sad, because I believe that that is how kids become biased. How many times do her kids need to hear their mom make a disparaging remark about Democrats before they blindly hate Democrats too? Or bend their political beliefs to the Republican party because "Democrats are bad"? (This, of course, is completely applicable the other way around for parents who make comments about Republicans.)

This brings home several points, not the least of which is remembering how impressionable little minds are. But also, where do we get off judging people based on the group they are in and not on the person who is standing in front of us? Stereotypes such as these seem to me to be the root of all hatred.

I love Tina, and I kept my mouth closed in the interest of our friendship. Just as I kept my mouth closed on a run last year where a Democrat and Republican got into it (civilly, but in a no-win argument) over the presidential election. But I wish I had the words. I wish I had the stones to say what I really think.