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Edited on Wed Nov-28-07 08:41 PM by MarianJack
I fully expect this thread to drop faster than jenna bush's panties at a frat party since I'm not smearing my own party, but other parents may relate to what I'm saying.
As we knew since before Murphy Brown had a baby, the right has defined family values as vociferous hatred of gay people, having enough guns to turn Never-never land into Dodge City, blind support for extreme right republicans who do no wrong, getting news from fox who decries porn while showing it on the network, insane preachers who think that fathers will "protect" sons from homosexuality by comparing their dicks in the shower, and of course, war-mongering.
And we allowed it to happen.
As a husband and a father, I noticed something that defines "Family Values" as what it really is to me. Others may have a similar view and experience.
On he day before Thanksgiving, I was violently ill. When I got home from work that day, my son was very upset. He colored picture of Superman for me with a nice get well note. When I went back to work on Monday after a wonderful 4 day weekend, I hung it in my cubical.
For the first time in 40+ years of reading and enjoying superhero comics, I noticed that Superman, who is always drawn with muscles in places that most of us don't even have places, has no bulge in the tights. In other words, very unlike our glorious leader when kkkarl put him in his flight suit.
I thought of my son, who loves superheroes, especially Superman, Spider man and Batman. I thought back to when I was 7, when I loved to see my heroes (especially "The Avengers") go out and kick the bad guys' asses. The heroes always had girlfriends or boyfriends, but they were not sexualized. It presented a moral and just world. A world where a 7 year believes in Santa and that the good guys always win. Unlike today, my 7 year old world was one where you could be proud of the president.
It isn't the REAL world, but who needs to know everything about the world at 7?
I learned about being a man mostly from my mom and my uncles (my father took a powder when I was 6). To some extent I learned from my movie heroes, mostly Gregory Peck & Jimmy stewart, and from my favorite superheroes.
I learned to stand for what I believe in even if it isn't popular and to speak my mind when it isn't considered fashionable to do so. ChicaAzul and I are proud to have been in the 8% when our glorious leader's approval rating was 92%.
Someday, our son will move away from his comic book heroes. He will know that the good guys lose more often than they win. This is almost certainly the last Christmas that our son will believe in Santa Claus. All of these things are not only inevitable but even necessary.
My family value is that I want to preserve this world for my son for as long as I can.
My family value is a desire for a world that is not melting from global warming.
My family value is a health care system where death is not considered to be a viable treatment choice for people who get sick without being multi-millionaires.
My family value is an economy where my son can earn a living when his schooling is complete without being sent to die in a criminal president's war of choice and lies.
My family value is a society where my son can drive a nice car in his black skin without the authorities thinking he stole it.
My family value is a society that considers who my son chooses to love as an adult, be it a woman of a different race or a person of the same sex, as none of their fucking business.
My family values will probably not all come to fruition in my lifetime. More than likely, my ashes in a jar will be among the least of the costs of this kind of future. I do have about 30 years to go to strive toward that.
The one family value I have that I can achieve is to protect my wife and son from the horse shit that passes for "family values" by the other side. I will do so as long as I draw breath.
PEACE!
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