This morning, amongst the mayhem of a typical weekday, Ben (freshly-turned 3-year-old) descended the stairs with his pants dragging around his ankles.
"I poo'd inda potty," he said, "... and took de lego OUT of the toilet."
Racing up the stairs with Ben under my arm, I hear G. call: "remember to wash the hands!"
Another truly gross moment brought to you by Parenthood™.
It's impossible not to get caught up in election fever -- unfolding now as I post -- even as a somewhat bemused Canadian (although, now that I am a resident, suddenly the election does seem a tad more relevant than it did before).
A couple of political aspects have struck me about the States. First, as everybody has noted, politics is far, far more passionate and divisive here than in Canada. The levels of hostility are somewhat alarming to behold, although I've mostly either observed them through the media or anecdotally. Truth be told, I have yet to meet an out-of-the-closet McCain supporter (they're hard to come by on Massachusetts Liberal Arts campuses), but I have heard one first-hand account of a woman in Texas reporting that a terrorist was parked nearby because she had seen an Obama bumper sticker.
People here do not vote Democrat or Republican, they are Liberals or Conservatives. Political affiliation is a far, far greater part of one's personal identity than in Canada. Combining this with the extreme emotions that have built up over the last 8 years has resulted in a weirdly intense climate that doesn't really compare to election time North of the border.
Enough about the divisive nature of the political climate here: other Canadians have blogged about this topic already, and better (this link points to a fascinating post from an American Liberal who finds his hatred of the Right to be approaching the bigotry and intolerance he himself opposes).
I though I would mention an aspect of all this that has really impressed me: people take their democracy very, very seriously down here. Not long after we arrived last year, there was an election for mayor of the town next to ours, and crowds of placard-carrying chanting supporters filled the downtown.
For the federal election, various state-level "propositions" are voted upon. Months prior to today, government-printed booklets with detailed examinations of the issues behind the propositions were widely distributed. Each proposition contained a (relatively) intelligent argument for and against (the online versions are here, here, and here). I have never seen anything close to such material in Canada.
Mind you, all the material and placards in the world does not result in informed voting or high voter turnout; nevertheless, I've been genuinely impressed by how democratic processes are (in some ways) taken more seriously here.
Plus, in terms of sheer entertainment, Election 2008 has been the best damn soap opera I've seen in a while. Frankly, comparing it to Election 2008: Canadian Edition was like comparing Desperate Housewives to CPAC.
