5/16/2005

I remember when I first started getting interested in politics

Sio is at that age where she is just beginning to get really interested in politics. Tonight, as we were driving to a music rehearsal (we're both singing in a Gilbert & Sullivan concert, blech), she and I were talking about gay marriage. I always think of gay rights as civil rights - if you're a citizen in good standing, you get to have all the same rights as all the other citizens in good standing.

Sio thinks that in addition to framing the discussion in terms of civil rights, we should also be addressing it as a freedom of religion issue. I know that the right doesn't care about freedom of religion, they only care about their freedom to make everyone observe their religion, but I love that my sweet girl is thinking about this stuff. She's honing her arguments by talking to her former boyfriend who is very religious and conservative. And the best thing is that she's adaptable - he sticks to his talking points, she keeps coming at it from different directions. She's much less knee-jerky than I was at her age, when I was dressed in black from head to toe, too angsty and faux-revolutionary to enjoy my teenage years.

No comments: