Talking to your kid about why Obama is different from past candidates?

Barack Obama is the democratic nominee for President. Hillary Clinton is the first woman to get a record number of votes and come this far for the nomination. So how do I talk about this with the boys?

I debated telling Ry about the significance of this today. On one hand, I wondered how weird that would sound to a six year old to hear that it is such a big deal that an African American and a woman are at this point for the first time in the history of the United States. Quite honestly, it made me sad to have to say it. Here he is entering a world where a diverse group of kids interact regularly, so why couldn’t any of them be president. It’s easy to see how closed minded and limited we had been as a nation when you try to tell your kid why this day is significant. It was clear he just didn’t get it. His associations to Obama date back to Obama’s run for senator of Illinois.

We went as a family to a rally for Obama at a local auditorium. Even J was with us in, albeit in a “Snuggly.” Obama buzz was in the air. He electrified the partisan crowd. Every Democratic elected official was there, hoping some of the good feelings for Obama would translate to votes for them. At the time, Stevie Wonder’s song, “higher ground,” was the theme song. The crowd danced and cheered knowing something special was happening.

When Ry was still in the womb, September 11 happened. We wondered what kind of world he would be living in. I can honestly say that neither my wife nor I considered the possibility of a world where an African American man could be the nominee of the Democratic Party and a woman could be a very significant runner up. I am starting to believe the possibilities are endless for these boys.