I know, I really do, that as a parent you want to encourage the spirit of independence in your child. But I’m as guilty as the next parent of giving my children a lot positive feedback when they spout political preferences in line with my own. Not that it helps. Like in oh-so-many other aspects of life, my 9-year-old son has no problem disagreeing with me. “I can’t believe you didn’t vote for Lohta,” he said, disdainfully, on the way to school this morning.
His big beef, which he is parroting from a friend who is parroting from his dad, is that de Blasio supports “The Dump.” Which is the shorthand for the massive garbage transfer station already being constructed near the East River and East 91st beside our dense residential neighborhood and the kids’ sports mecca Asphalt Green. I’m against The Dump too (and here’s the case against it), but as a liberally-inclined person I want to give de Blasio a shot at running our great city. (If it were a closer race, then I would have had to examine my idealism more closely.)
I tried to explain to Adam why I supported de Blasio in general, but he wasn’t buying it; he couldn’t understand how I could support anyone who would do such obvious harm to us.
On the balance, I think I was more pleased with him taking a stand and being interested in his community than the specter of raising a Republican (if that indeed is what’s going on here).
Either side will be lucky to have him.
Just prior to our political to-do, during the elevator ride, Adam and I were getting into it on another pressing issue: What the babysitter can order for dinner (since both Rebecca and I would be out). His sister Elena has special requests because she’s getting her braces re-installed), and I favored what Elena wanted because of that. Adam went from balking to agreeing and then trying to extract an IOU (to the corner diner). The head of our co-op board, a successful corporate lawyer, was also in the elevator, soaking it all in.
“I love it,” she complimented him. “A successful negotiation!”
Adam nodded, then seemed to remember something.
“I want two IOUs,” he said.
Eric Messinger is the editor of New York Family. He can be reached at [email protected].
