Far Left or Far Right
Have you ever wondered how much your political leanings were influenced by your parents? I've noticed lately that my son has picked up on some of my ideas.
A little bit ago during the recall my oldest son Ethan was really hoping Arnold would win the California election. He only started announcing these views after I said them. Of course our reasons we different. Ethan thinks Arnold is the greatest man alive today.("I mean Dad He's The Terminator! Of course he'll do a good job.") I wanted him to win because from a humorist's point of view it's the funniest thing that could have happened.
(I think God has the same attitude towards my life. He doesn't do things to me because they are fair or just. He does things to me that will give him a chuckle. One example would be giving me a demon from the 6th ring of hell as a sister.)
Another political influence I seem to have passed on to my son is my absolute hatred toward Richard M. Nixon. When he was in 1st grade and I was teaching him the presidents he knew Nixon as, The Evil President. (He also knew JFK as the guy who when he cheated on his wife had the good taste to do it with Marilyn Monroe and not some tubby intern with father issues.)
Ethan got in trouble when he told his class that Nixon was a bad guy who tapped danced all over the constitution. He also told them that Nixon's dog checkers was roasting in doggie hell. ( I remembered that one from the Simpsons but couldn't pass it up when I went on my rant against Nixon to Ethan.) I also told Ethan that in polite circles President Nixon was known as "Tricky Dick". There was also a good possibility that Nixon was part French.
Ethan learned his lessons so well that to this day he thinks Nixon sold his soul for the Republican nomination in 1968.
I worry how this will affect him in later years. What sort of influence this will have over him as he starts to make his own political judgments.
Maybe I was being harsh to our late President. Maybe I should say something nice about Nixon.

I mean I'm sure if there is a doggie heaven Checkers is there. It wasn't his fault his master was souless minion of the dark.

Maybe I should just learn to keep my mouth shut.
But when it comes to Nixon it's hard. My father's own views on him had nothing to do with my opinion. To me it was personal. In the spring and summer of 1974 Richard M. Nixon was a bigger bane to my life then my sister Rose was.