Copied from GD - what is your earliest political memory?

[WildEyedLiberal]

There's a really interesting thread about this in GD and as I was reading it I wondered about my fellow Kerrycrats and their earliest political memories.

Mine (I'm a youngun):

I remember the fall of the Soviet Union. I think I was about 5 or 6. I was at my grandma's house while my parents were at work, so I watched a lot of TV because there was nothing else to do at her house. They interrupted the regular afternoon cartoons that were on the networks to show nonstop coverage from Moscow. I didn't really understand what was going on - I just knew something big was happening in Russia. Now I understand what I was seeing then.

My earliest memory of US politics was the 1992 election. I was in 2nd grade. I remember seeing Dan Quayle on the cover of TV Guide and asking my mom if she liked him. When she said she didn't, my curiosity was piqued - if my MOM didn't like him, he must be a scummy guy. I asked why she didn't like him and she told me that George Bush and Dan Quayle were not nice people and that she wanted Bill Clinton to be president instead. I think I officially became a Democrat at that point. :D I remember my class had a mock election, and George Bush won. I was mad and complained to my mom about all the stupid kids who voted for Bush. (Things haven't changed - most of my former classmates are still stupid and vote for Republicans, except now their votes actually count. :scared: )

I also remember thinking that Dan Qualye must be a HUGE moron if he couldn't even spell "potato."

So everybody - what's your earliest political memory?

[karynnj]

1. JFK running for President

I was only 10 and adamantly for Kennedy - I loved hearing him speak. I couldn't understand how anyone could like Nixon - who seemed scary. (As you can see, I didn't yet care much about small islands off the coast of China.) I was also influenced because I was from a big family and Catholic too.

[beachmom]

2. 1976 -- Jimmy Carter

I was in, I think, 2nd or 3rd grade, and I had a teacher who was a staunch Republican, and she had us put together a project for the candidate who we wanted to win the election. I chose Jimmy Carter -- I can still picture my little booklet about Jimmy Carter, and I was happy when he won. I remember my teacher making excuses for Gerald Ford the next day for not giving a congratulatory call right away (you know, he was tired and just went to bed), but overall, I have to thank this Republican for getting me interested in politics. She had a lot of enthusiasm and taught how important it was to be engaged. Maybe that's why I can't call the Republicans "rethugs" -- because there actually ARE many good Republicans out there; it's only that they have been drowned out by the bad ones.

[StoryTeller]

3. 1980 election

I was in kindergarten and we had a mock election. I remember there was a booth, and we had red and blue squares of paper--for Carter or Reagan--to put in a box. (Can't remember which color was which.) I voted for Carter. I think he won, actually. I remember thinking "Carter is our president, so he's probably better than the new guy."

I'm sure my staunchly Republican parents would have been amused and horrified to learn I'd voted Democrat at such an early age. I guess I've always been destined to be a Democrat, huh? :)

So, I suppose John Kerry was technically not the first Democrat I'd voted for for president. Sorry, JK. :D

[rox63]

4. RFK's assassination

I was 5 years old, and I recall seeing it on the tv news. My conservative family members weren't all that upset about it, since it meant the GOP would probably win. I know... disgusting of them. :puke:

[ProSense]

5. 1968

The assassinations of MLK and RFK, and I wasn't living in the United States yet.

[sandnsea]

6. The assassination overshadows eveything

I know that isn't my earliest awareness of politics because the assassination wouldn't have meant as much if it weren't for being aware before that. I know that I related to Caroline because she was just a few weeks different in age from me, and it was fascinating to me to see this powerful world figure relate to a little girl just like me. But in my actual memories, the assassination is sort of the political stamp on my mind. I was just 6 and our class was on its way to mass. Having women come screaming out of their homes that the President was shot and to pray for him is rather overwhelming. So that's my first political memory, and a sad precursor of what was to come.

[cadmium]

7. Funny.

Wild -Eyed. I didnt realize you are so young.
I really enjoy your missives. You are an insightful writer.

My grade school memories were of a liberal pope, fear of Cubans, and war brewing in a country called "SovietNam"

[WildEyedLiberal]

11. Awww, blush

Thanks!

[fedupinBushcountry]

16. Yes

that liberal Pope John the XXIII, he will always be my favorite. I remember like in 3rd grade practicing hiding under our desks in case we were hit by an atomic bomb. To look back at that now is like the same great idea of plastic and duct tape, like yeah that will help us.

[Island Blue]

8. This might not technically be a political memory

but I remember when I was in the 5th grade, my teacher LOVED John F. Kennedy. (I don't remember his assassination because I was 3 months old at the time.) Anyway, we had to do a report on a president, and because I knew Ms. Baker loved JFK I decided to do my report on him. When I read my report out loud Ms. Baker began to cry. I think that's the first time I was aware of what a powerful impact a politician could have on a person, even several years after his death.

Other than that, I grew up in a house without a teevee (my parents just refused to buy one) so I feel like I missed a lot of political exposure that other folks probably saw.

[cadmium]

10. I was in fourth grade

when we heard the announcement of JFK's shooting over the loud speaker. We stopped our lessons and sat around chatting. When we got the announcement that he died our teacher immediately began sobbing and left the room.

[Mass]

9. 1968

Student protests in the streets of Paris and general strike throughout France (We had one month of vacation in May as everything was closed).
and Vietnam images on the news, and also the terrible images of children starving in Biafra.

[JI7]

12. one of my earlier memories is of Quayle also

i was about 9. it was during his first election with Bush for vp. i remember my cousin saying if Dan Quayle becomes president we are in trouble.

in many ways the 2nd Bush is like Quayle. but i think Quayle is mostly an idiot where Bush is an idiot but is hateful and seems to get some pleasure in seeing others get hurt.

i do remember Reagan winning re-election but didn't think much of it.

and while this wasn't directly related to any politician i remember a kid sleeping in a car when was about 5 and that always stayed with me. at the time it was mostly confusion. but as i learned more about history and politics i see the right wing policies are responsible for people having to live that way.

i had a friend named Barbara and i remember kids would tease her by calling her barbara bush. i realized later how bad that was.

[fedupinBushcountry]

13. JFK

I was 9, and of course Catholic and going to Catholic school and living in N.Y. I can remember my little brother who was 7 at the time, going around the neighborhood with his red wagon filled with JFK buttons and fliers.

When JFK got assassinated it was devastating, it was like everything stopped. We were in school when we got the word and our teacher ( Sister Camille) was also the principal, and she sent the whole school home. I can remember we prayed as we walked home. I can remember being glued to our b/w tv and I think everyone saw Oswald get shot. To this day I still think that someone else was involved.


Then in '64 I met Bobby Kennedy he was running for the Senate in N.Y. and he came to our Catholic high school and we were thrilled to have the chance to meet him.

I was for RFK for president even though I wouldn't have been able to vote for him. I remember coming home from a date and my mother told me the news, it was an awful feeling all over again.

I never wanted Ted Kennedy to run, I was glad when he dropped out, I think it relieved a lot of us, we just didn't want anything to happen to him.

[rox63]

14. I also went to a Catholic school, and they had JFK pics in classrooms too

I wonder if they did that in most Catholic schools in the US? Or just in states that were connected to the Kennedy family? (Like MA and NY) I was only 6 months old when JFK was assassinated, so I have no direct memories of that. And I wasn't yet in school when RFK was killed.

[fedupinBushcountry]

15. We still have the holy card

pic of JFK, that was given that Sunday in church. My grandfather, was the head of the Democrats in his town in Ohio and he had a wonderful autographed picture from JFK, my Dad wanted it when my grandfather passed away and so did all his other siblings, so between 5 of them they had to draw straws to see who it would go to, my father's younger brother now has that pic.

Yes we had a picture of JFK in our high school. I can't remember if they had one in our elementary , probably.

[paulk]

17. it was, I think, 1964

There was a barn in the town I lived in that had the whole side painted (and hand painted, at that)with "Goldwater For President". With a little "John Birch Society" tag at the bottom. I mean, it was HUGE. It obviously took a lot of work to paint. To show that measure of support for someone who was clearly going to lose - what did that mean?

I was eight yrs old - not really politically aware - but, I did understand that there was an election for President going on... and what I got out of it was - after Goldwater's overwhelming defeat - how out of step with the rest of the country the place I lived was. What I came to recognize was that there was such a thing as extremism.... and that the John Birch Society literature lying around my Dad's den marked HIM as an extremist, and probably someone who's political views I should question....

The seeds of a future Democrat were planted.

[WildEyedLiberal]

18. Yikes!

:scared:

[Firespirit]

19. 1988 election

Four years old. My parents had what I realize now was a disagreement. My mom, diehard Democrat that she is, has never not voted for the Democratic ticket, and she was going to vote for Dukakis. My dad is not so reliable. His first vote was for NIXON (hers was for Carter), and he voted for Nader in 2000 against my strong objections.

Anyway, he made the comment "I don't have such a problem with Bush. What I don't like, is Quayle." I asked my mom later who he was talking about, and she explained it to me. Also that she didn't think that Bush and Quayle were very smart. I asked why my dad would consider voting for someone who wasn't smart, and she laughed and said she didn't know.