I Remember Mama Voting

Today was a long day (wrote a post about the firing of the most powerful woman on Wall Street at BlogHer, and also one on public service and burnout at Just Cause; went to work and did my data entry tasks; edited the proof of my book; and joined Husband at a painful networking event for NYU's Young Alumni Leaders Circle, of which he is a member, not me), but I don't have it nearly as hard as millions of other women in this country who work at least one paid job, then go home to take care of their families. So while my eyes are still (barely) open, I want to take part in ACORN's I Remember Mama Voting event. The campaign asks people to think about your own mother or mother figure and how she may or may not have influenced your political views and your attitudes about voting and civic participation.

Where I grew up, it was assumed that everyone of legal age voted. (This was outside of Chicago, so generally our dead didn't also vote.) Our assigned polling station was at the Jesuit boys' high school down the street from our house. Part of the excitement I felt when I accompanied my mom as she went to vote was from entering what I considered a mysterious space. Incidentally, the actor Chris O'Donnell attended this high school, so he was probably there when I went with my mom to vote. (He also went to the same dentist as my family, but I digress.)

I think what makes this so interesting is that I associate my mom voting with Jesuit boys. My mom is not as involved in political causes as I am, but my family has always been Democrats surrounded by a Republican community. I just always knew that Republicans were not for us, although when I was older, I remember overhearing my father telling our neighbor a bizarre joke about my mom voting for Ronald Reagan because she thought Jimmy Carter had bad legs. I was utterly horrified at the thought. How could my mom vote for a Republican?!?! Fortunately, when I asked her about it, she had no idea what I was talking about, but it was my first exposure to the stereotypical notion that women don't vote on the issues, but rather on a candidate's attractiveness. I thought that was the dumbest thing any woman could do, and swore I would follow my mom's example and always vote for the candidate who would help "the people." Thanks, Mom!

To participate in I Remember Mama Voting, post your story on your blog and then link to it at ACORN's site.