I just thought it would be good of all of us to share where we first became political. I think I've told my story before, but since it is buried some few months back I'll repeat it.
For me it had to do with Bobby, back when I was 11. Coincidently, that election was as contentious as this one, especially in the primaries, and us fifth graders were following it closely. We even had an assembly where some of us were chosen to go up and represent the candidates. I was chosen to represent Bobby.
My Dad helped me to do the speech, and we sprinkled in a lot of hippie talk, my speech littered with "groks" and "groovys," and I dressed the part, complete with stick on goatee that fell off when I spoke. I had a blast, but it wasn't really political, until a just few days later in Los Angeles. Bobby wasn't my hero or anything, until that tragic day. I have followed politics ever since.
I add this short vignette partly because I'd love to hear how you folks got energized. Partly that is in honor of my students, who I hope got energized this political season, and will continue to take part the rest of their lives. But part of why I wrote this was Spin'ster's comment comparing JFKerry to JFKennedy, at least she makes that comparison, as do we all, when we use the short form, "JFK." Kerry is more like RFK, though. Former prosecutor, former Senator. One can't imagine JFK taking on BCCI, as did Kerry, but RFK would.
Tell us your stories, folks. Where in your past did politics become important?
