My brother, the Republican

My brother came home one day with two note cards. One had a picture of Bush, the other Kerry. Each card included some trivial info on them like where they lived, what they liked, and what party they were from. Each note card included a picture of each candidate. Bush's was a color photo of him smiling. Kerry's was just a photo copy.

Then I saw a "yes" on Bush's note cared, and a "no" on Kerry's, and I'm thinking, "My brother's in SECOND GRADE. Are they making second graders involve in a contentious election as well. Shouldn’t kids stay innocent as long as possible? Why do they have to be exposed to partisanship so early? Why?" SECOND GRADE. SECOND GRADE.

I find out later that my brother wrote the "yes" next to Bush's name because he wanted to vote for him. Because my father and I voted for Kerry, this amuses me greatly. Looks like we might have a Republican in our family. (My mother doesn't like Bush either).

I don't know what the purpose of the assignment was—-probably some harmless civics and current events lesson. But I wonder whether we have been in Texas too long and my brother is being indoctrinated with Republican values. I wonder how many children wrote "yes" on Bush's card and "no" on Kerry’s and vice versa.

On another note, I voted for Kerry. And being that I live in Texas, the millions of others who voted Republican will probably negate my vote; thus, the Electoral College votes will go to Bush. I know that, but I felt that I made the right choice by choosing to vote, even though I know ahead of time which way Texas swings to on Election Day.

UPDATE 11-2: Today my brother had a "I voted today" sticker on his shirt. His school had a mock vote. I asked him who he voted for, and he said "Kerry." I feel bad now. I think he changed his vote because we sort of teased him and laughed when he told us he was for Bush. Poor guy.