All Things Mom

I wondered if the anti-school levy signs would still be there. Surely other Selah peeps had the same thoughts of removing them as I did, right?

Just past King’s Row, I saw that indeed, the signs were there. And so were three or four people! Dressed in faded jeans and plaid shirts and worn jackets, they waved homemade signs that were even more direct than the ones stuck in the ground. “It’s OK to Vote NO on Kids.”

That’s all it took for my buttons to be pushed. I wanted to honk—rudely. I really wanted to stop and say something—nasty. But of course, being the kind of person who strives to be understanding and nice to everyone, I did nothing.

Looking back now, it’s good that I kept to myself.

They were old people, just as I suspected when I first saw the signs yesterday. I said “Shame on you,” to myself when I realized I had made that assumption. I thought I was basing my theory on nothing, and felt bad that I had such a prejudice inside of me.

But after visiting today with someone way smarter than me (yeah dude, you know who you are), I realized where my older-people hypothesis came from, as well as a few other things.

1. I’m not such a bad person. In my experience, it is senior citizens who are most often living on fixed incomes. These individuals don’t have the options of taking second jobs, or moving up in the work force to make ends meet. If anyone is going to be against raising taxes, it’s going to be people like this; those with limited, fixed incomes. So in saving face (even if just to myself), I discovered that my shame-inducing initial assumption was not perhaps so shameful, and was actually based on knowledge. Whew!

2. Anti-tax is not anti-kid. I am ranting that our kids need quality education. They’re stating that they don’t want more taxes. While the two are intrinsically tied, they really aren’t related. (I think I just bitch-slapped myself!)

3. Wasted effort. My outrage at the anti-tax campaign is doing little—if anything—to help pass the school bond. I would bet that 90% of you who read my rants already vote. I’m not changing any minds… just preaching to the choir. The only way for Selah to succeed is to identify MORE pro-school voters and make sure they vote.

That said, I’m still angry. We still need to look to the future, and PLAN for it, by teaching our kids the best we can, and helping them reach their full potential. That means computers. That means state-of-the-art technology. That means investment.

But to get involved in a pissing match is a waste of time and resources. Plus, it makes certain mom’s really grouchy.