From My 14 Yr Old Son:"I am NOT proud to be an American!"

[renie408]

I am at one of those parental crossroads and I have no idea which way to go. We watched Farenheit 9/11 today. Now we just watched the 60 minutes segment about how the city of Gretna, La. closed down the bridge from NOLA, probably because of racism. Now we are watching about how the US government kidnapped some innocent guy and F'ed up his life.

My son is bitter and disillusioned and angry. He is NOT loving his country right now. I want him to be informed, even if it is ugly. But I don't want him to become disaffected. I need him (we ALL need him and his peers) to understand that 'fixing' this lies in his hands and with his vote.

So how do I do that? How do I help him understand the difference between hating this administration and hating his country? He ain't buying it right now.

[xultar]

1. I feel the same way. I also don't feel proud to be a Christian.

[Cha]

2. He's not the only one..

I've been disassociating bushit and the country I was born in for 5 years but this government has taken over with everything rotten it can imagine and it really isn't a very proud moment in our history.

[BrklynLiberal]

3. I admire you for raising your son to have enough sensitivity and

intelligence to be angry and bitter at what is going on. So many are either unaware or do not give a crap. You, and he, are way ahead of thousands (perhaps millions) of others in the latter categories.
One can hope that his anger will propel him to do something to prevent this from continuing into the time when his generation is in charge of this country.

[Seedersandleechers]

5. Show him how he can channel that anger that will benefit everyone....

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

4. Read him the Constitution

and remind him that THIS is what all government employees promise to "Preserve, Protect and Defend". Tell him about the corrupt leaders of the past (Harding,Nixon) and how the county perservered. Tell him it is ok-heck, even patriotic, to oppose those in power when they do the wrong things--and it is the duty of every citizen to work to kick the scoundrels out of office. Are you invovled in local politics? If so, take him down to headquarters to a meeting-or have him volunteer to help stuff envelopes, put up flyers, etc. When I was 17, I was walking around town having people sign petitions against the Viet Nam War. Sure, I hated what was going on, but I knew the Constitution and that WE have the power to change things.

[POAS]

6. Teach him to change America to something

worthy of pride.

[RagingInMiami]

7. This is the reason why I believe the current crop of youngsters

Is going to grow up to be one of the most politically progressive generations we've seen since the sixties.

[renie408]

8. Thanks for the responses.Now what have you got for a pissed off 39 yr old?

My husband just finished a ten minute rant about how next year, we are PASSING ON CHRISTMAS!

Ok, we are atheists, but Christmas is one of my favorite holidays. We emphasize the spirit of giving and of appreciating family. We still call it 'Christmas', even though that is a religious term. We call it Christmas because it is, well, Christmas and that is what we grew up calling it. And what is in a name? (OK, yeah, 'christ' is in the name.) He is all fired up because of all the 'War on Christmas' crap.

Does anybody know if you HAVE to be black to celebrate Kwanzaa? What are the rules of Festivus?

[Arugula Latte]

17. Celebrate the Solstice -- that's the original holiday anyway.

As far as I'm concerned, the Christians waged a war on the Solstice long ago. Well, turnaround is fair play. Celebrating with light? Pagan. The tree thing? Pagan. Presents? I have no idea, but they're always good.

[GatoLover]

9. I grew up in the south during the 1950s and 60s

so I am old enough to actually remember (vaguely) separate drinking fountains in the supermarket for whites and blacks. I lived through the federal court desegregation suit which took ten years to actually desegregate a single school. I remember watching teenaged civil rights demonstartors in Birmingham being knocked over with water cannons. It was easy to get a bad attitude about the United States, right? But I also lived through the changes which make these stories sound anachronistic. So, I would tell your son that while this is a country in which plenty of bad things happen, it is also one which is very open to change and improvement.

[Journeyman]

10. Why not show him films and help him find books that accentuate. . .

the positive aspects of the nation which you hold to be of value, those ideals which are worth fighting for and deserve his respect and attention. He's at an age where he's developing his adult conceptions of the world -- help him to find beliefs which will enrich his life and he'll see their value for himself.

As an example, teach him that racism is an ugly blot on the planet and isn't monopolized by this nation. To help him understand its impact as well as the means to combat it, give him a copy of Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man. Maybe he'll find, as Ellison's nameless narrator discovered, that the world is not in a straightjacket and until someone succeeds in so restricting it, its definition is possibility.

[coffeenap]

11. I highly recommend helping him find an opportunity to do some real

work for change. My son met Andy Stephenson and worked with him on election reform until Andy left us. He also worked on the campaign to elect a Dem. to our Congressional district for the first time in 25 years. Now he is working with Kevin Pena on Haiti. He also works on educating and monitoring the GM foods situation around the world as well as action alerts (all internet based) for social injustice in Asia and Africa. Much of this can be done from home or in campaign or non-profits' offices.

Let him learn and let him work! My son is now 16. He started with Andy at 14. He has a reality-based perspective that is larger than his own government.

I wish you the best. Anger and bitterness are the first steps. How could anyone who sees the truth not feel those emotions? Look at all of us "mature adults" struggling too!

PM if you want to discuss it more personally.

[pinto]

12. None of my business. But, since you asked, you got him all prepped to be

disillusioned and angry. Try a little more variety in the family movie choices, maybe? It's not all about politics and government corruption and abuse. He's only 14...think about it.

(Sorry to butt in on a personal issue post. I'm not a parent, so excuse the presumption on my part. I was 14 at one time, though...)

[GrumpyGreg]

13. Ditto---and I am a parent and grandparent.

[fudge stripe cookays]

15. Yeah...he should be watching

Britney Spears. THERE'S something worthwhile. :eyes:

I applaud her for educating her son about the world around him at a young age. Something my parents never did. Right now, politics and government corruption and abuse are doing far more damage to our country than they've ever done in the past.

If this generation did the same thing I did-- not getting into politics until I was 37, our world could collapse.

Judgmental much?

[pinto]

16. Yeah, it was judgemental. And I'm not in her shoes. I hope that was clear

[SquireJons]

14. Just tell him the truth.

For evey 1 asinine thing the idiots do in this country, there are 5 truly wonderful things that have happened. Seek out those positive things and show them to your son. That's what I do, because I don't want my son to be consumed by cynicism.

[ms liberty]

18. Here's my 2 cents...

Even if he's seen it before, a "review" of the 60's; perhaps one night a documentary of the civil rights movement, with MLK's "I Have A Dream" speech at the end; on another night the anti war movement, the deaths at Kent State, with Kerry's testimony at the end; he needs to see how bad it can be, how heroes step up to lead and inspire even in the worst of times, even when the cost is so high. The only way we can win is if we fight, like they fought, like the founders fought.

[LunaC]

19. Validate his feelings

rather than diminish them. Share this with him....he's not alone!

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