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All this week, my partner has had the flu, so instead of our usual morning smoothies, I've been going to the Einstein's near my office for a bagel and coffee. There's a gentleman about my age (early 30's) who must work near here and keep a simliar schedule to me, because I've seen him every day. This morning, he struck up a conversation with me while I was getting my coffee. After the usual good mornings, he asked if he could ask me a question, and I said sure and he said, "I'm curious how a woman and a veteran and a mother could consider voting for Kerry,"
I was taken aback by this. I asked him what made him think I was a veteran and a mother. He said he noticed the "Veterans for Kerry" sticker on the back of our car, and since it's a Volvo stationwagon, he figured I must be a mom. (!) For the record, I'm not.
I explained that my partner was the veteran, he'd served during the first Gulf war, when he had voted for W's father. I told him my partner was supporting Kerry in large part because he feels that W's lack of military experience led him to go to rush to war without proper consideration or preparation. I told him that both my partner and I were quite concerned about a drop in veteran's benefits and the inequity of treatment for serving and returning reservists and guardsmen. I told him that we both believed that this war had made us more vulnerable to terrorism and negatively impacted our relationships with other countries in the world, not only in terms of defense but in trade negotiations (for example, we now have a weaker negotiating position with potential trading partners). He listened to all of this quietly, occasionally nodding his head. When I'd finished, he shook his hand and thanked me for my time and said, "You've given me a lot to think about,". At that point, something in his body language made me feel like I should stop there and not push at him to vote Kerry. I did say, "I hope you'll stop by www.johnkerry.com and see some of his opinions for yourself,". He said he would do that.
Now, of course, I'm kicking myself for not really taking the time to find out why, or even if, he was considering voting for W. Maybe he was one of those rare undecideds. Or maybe he's just a reasonable conservative. Shit. Maybe I could have made a difference today, or maybe I would have offended him, but now I feel like I didn't even try.
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