Molly has ruined my life,” nine-year-old Will declares somberly, indicating a flair for the dramatic that has been heightened, no doubt, by having two older sisters, both teenagers, both with their own occasional penchant for hyperbole. Even so, I recognize that this statement might have its genesis in more than the usual unpleasant bout of sibling rivalry.##M:[more]##
“How has your sister ruined your life?” I ask, wanting him to know I am taking his concerns seriously and will try to help him refashion his life in a way that will be, at the very least, tolerable, and hopefully, quite satisfactory. I would hate to think that he thought he had hit his peak years of happiness before even reaching double digits.
“She told me that if John McCain is elected president, I could be drafted to fight the war in Iraq. I don’t want to fight in Iraq. I don’t want to be drafted. I don’t want McCain to be president!”
Wow. As much publicity as the 2008 presidential campaign has generated, and despite the marathon nature of the contest which began way earlier than most election years, I am nonetheless surprised at how aware the young are of the big issues this year, including the environment, the economy, and especially, the war in Iraq.
My son, who is a good nine years from being able to vote or to be drafted, is a solid Democrat this year because he has heard that Senator McCain has vowed to stay in Iraq as long as it takes to get the job done.
“Will,” I say to him in a reasonable tone, “first of all, more than likely, the war in Iraq will be over well before you reach the age where you could be drafted.”
“What if the war isn’t over by then?” he counters.
“There is still the great likelihood that our country would run on a volunteer military, that only those who want to go fight the war would have to go, and there would be enough of them that the government would not have to institute the draft.”
“But what if the war is still going on and there aren’t enough people who volunteer?” he continues (showing the logic of a future reporter or lawyer — a good thing normally, but in this case, aggravating because he’s like a dog with a bone — he cannot let go of this worry, which is casting a cloud over his otherwise happy nine-year-old life.)
“If they do go back to a draft when you’re 18 years old, we’ll make sure you get into a good college so you can spend the war years in school.” Now I am invoking my long-ago memory of students during the Vietnam War who avoided the draft by fleeing to the Ivory Towers of Higher Education.
“But what if they need even more soldiers and they start drafting students?” he persists. “Would I have to go?”
“If it ever gets to that point, Will, we would pack you up and move to Canada,” I declare, now remembering those Vietnam era draft dodgers — at the best, considered conscientious objectors against needless slaughter and lost political causes, at the worst, scorned as unpatriotic runaways.
I’ve replayed our conversation to illustrate how deeply even third graders are thinking about the issues this political campaign has raised. While most elementary school students are normally insulated from the woes of war and the economy, now we are reminded of the national gloom every time we go to the gas pump or the grocery store. “Seventy-two dollars!” I roared the last time I filled up my minivan, because I remember when hitting 50 bucks seemed like a big deal. Given that my husband’s SUV burns about the same amount of gas and money weekly, and adding in Katie’s 40 dollars or so for her Volkswagen Jetta, this family is spending nearly 200 dollars a week on gas, and the indications are that it’s only going to get worse before it gets any better.
But have we changed our driving habits? Not really. There’s not a whole lot we can change, short of purchasing a hybrid vehicle. We have to get to where we need to go, and it’s not as if we have any public transportation options or even that many options to carpool.
It’s the same with the way we eat. I have to confess that we’re doing as much take-out and eating out as ever, because of our busy schedules and the inability to cook and sit down to eat as a family, as much as we are trying to do more of that. As for quantity and what we’re purchasing at the grocery store, there is no significant way to cut back, given the needs of three growing children, and thank goodness we don’t have to. But think of the thousands of people across the country who have to make tough decisions about their daily lives because of the growing quagmire that is our nation’s economy and state of well-being.
It has been said that our next generation may be the first in our country’s history that does not achieve the quality of life we have in this generation. I hope that’s not the case. I hope that this is not “as good as it’s going to get” for my children or their children. Yes, I am referring to my unborn grandchildren, because I know my children are going to love their kids as I much as I love them, and I would hate for them to feel sad about a quality of life for them that is less than par because of the short-sightedness of our current policies and habits.
I don’t have any answers. I sure wish I did. The sad thing is that no matter who is in the Oval Office come next year, I’m not sure they’ll have any great answers either.
