Sometimes the mysteries aren’t funny.
This Monday (6-28-10), my son received some exciting news: President Obama was coming to our city for a town hall meeting and he had been asked to sing the National Anthem there. He was very excited – well, as excited as 17 year old guys ever can be. He gave his SSN so he could be background checked, and was told that if he checked out, with no arrests, warrants, etc., he would be singing. The town hall meeting would begin at 1:15 on Wednesday, June 30, 2010. Tuesday he called the local state representative in charge of scheduling him and was told that someone from the White House advance team would be contacting him with further info.
And then, silence.
This morning, he tried to act like he didn’t care, but he obviously did. He tried to act like he wasn’t still holding out hope, but he obviously was. He tried to act like it didn’t hurt, but it obviously had.
My husband and I had been afraid from the beginning this would happen. Both my husband and our son have listed “Constitutional Conservative” under Political Views on their Facebook pages. The hubby has never made a secret of his political leanings, and while he has never posted hateful diatribes about the President, he has commented on blogs and written a few articles strongly disagreeing with President Obama’s politics and policies. (I do not publicize my own political views, since I’m a pastor. I don’t fit neatly into any political pigeonhole anyway.)
As we considered this, and the hour grew later and later, our hearts sank. Apparently, our boy was about to learn some hard lessons about what happens when you have the courage of your convictions.
I want to believe that this was a mistake. That he wasn’t simply passed over for a “photo op” that would serve to highlight a policy or politics as usual. I want to believe that this was some administrative blunder, made by a bureaucrat who had a better idea and little time, and who forgot to make the call to a young man who was waiting for the opportunity of a lifetime. I want to believe that this was a simple oversight, that our governmental machine would not, COULD NOT be so petty as to exclude an exceptionally talented and deserving young man just because his family did not belong to the “right” political party. And I will not consider any other, more ominous possibilities. Because to entertain those thoughts would be to entertain the notion that the country we love and served has started down a bumpy and tragic road.
My son turns 18 in October and will vote for the first time in November. I want him to remember what happened today. I want him to always be skeptical of the motives of anyone who seeks political office, and to vote for the candidate who truly wants to serve the people and not their own interests. I want him to always remember to vote for the candidate to whom the “little person” is as important as the “dignitary,” to vote for the person who sees every citizen as valuable, regardless of their party, their race, their age, their sex, their sexual preference, or their religion. I want him to remember this day, and to remember that everyone is important, no matter how inconsequential they may seem.
Today, something was taken away from this young man that can never be replaced. He lost a little of his idealism, a little of his faith in the system, a little more of the innocence of youth. And my heart, a mother’s heart, is breaking.
It is now 12:30 PM.
President Obama, we’re still waiting for your staff’s call, sir.
UPDATE:
The national anthem was sung by SSG Emily Russell, a member of the Wisconsin Army National Guard’s public affairs office, who has been called on to sing the anthem before at public events around Wisconsin. We are both pleased and proud to have had this honor go to a member of our Armed Forces, particularly an Army soldier!
But it still would have been nice to get a phone call.
For those of you who have asked, I will post some video of a couple of my son’s performances in the next day or so. Stay tuned!!
Mysteries of My Life 