I am currently beating my head against the desk. I just got to listen to my daughter go off on an anti-abortion tirade.
Wait. Let me say that again. MY daughter (who apparently has absorbed NOTHING in my house) is ranting like an established 60-year-old pro-life male. Anyone who knows me is perfectly well aware that I am anything but indifferent to political issues. They also know that my basic tenet on such issues boils down to PERSONAL choices, whether those choices deal with abortion or who to vote for or homosexuality.
PERSONAL choice.
But, oh my heart stopped to hear my daughter go off on a tirade about *baby-murder.* Damnit. It's not so much her stance that I disagree with; it's the complete and total lack of tolerance for a point of view that she does not share. Evidently, I have failed in one aspect of parenting--despite all the allusions to the contrary, I have neglected to instill an open mind into at least one of my children.
Now, it is important for ME to have an open mind in regards to HER. If I say no to any request, I am narrow-minded. I've even been called old-fashioned.
ROFLMAO! Yes, I laughed at that too. Laughed hysterically until tears rolled down my face. If she only knew! Old-fashioned? Okay--if you can call having 21st century ideals old-fashioned then I guess I am.
But this? What's next? Racism? Homophobia? An affiliation with *gasp* either of the two American political parties?????
Say it ain't so, Joe. Say it ain't so.
It was almost more than I could do to restrain the comment (complete with statistics, Supreme Court decisions, and real-life examples) that bubbled to my lips when she told me. It was all I could do to remember my own priority on how important it is for my daughters to create their own points-of-view on ANY issue and not to impose my own upon. It was hard, VERY hard, to murmur a noncommittal "That's nice, dear." and walk away.
But, I did.
Maybe that will bring the lesson home, more than my previous lessons ever have.
