Judged not by the color of their skin

Our 6 year old son knows his colors - but has no concept of color - at least when it comes to people. One time a couple of years ago at a professional basketball game he asked who had the ball. "The black guy," my husband said. My son looked at him totally lost. "Who?" That was when we realized that we have the least-racist child EVER. He seriously has no clue the difference between blacks, whites, hispanics, asians or otherwise. We're all just people.

That's why at some point during the last few weeks, when he asked "What's so important about Barack Obama?" I had to pause. "Well, honey, if he gets elected President, he'll be our first black President." He truly never noticed that Obama was any other color than white.

Last night at dinner, he had a placemat of the USA. "Here's Kansas where we live. Here's India (Indiana), here's Texas, here's Chicago. OH! Here's Washington DC!"

My daughter said, "What's a Washington DC?"

He replied, "It's where Barack Obama, our new black President, is going to live."

I burst out laughing, tears followed and my family just stared at me like I'd had one too many. My husband asked what in the world was so funny.

I answered, "I never in my life imagined myself sitting at the table with my children and hearing one of them say 'our new black President.' It just made me realize how amazing life is."

Ok, pipe down and listen before you start getting antsy. Even if you HATE the guy - and there are lots of people who do - you have to admit that it is pretty amazing that my 6 year old son, and LOTS of children his age, actually know who the new President is. They listened. They paid attention. They asked questions. They wanted to know more. They wanted to go with you to vote. They asked to watch the acceptance speech. And regardless of who actually won, this election maded an impact on our CHILDREN for the first time EVER.

My husband and I never paid attention to elections when we were kids. I am going to venture a guess that you didn't either. But sitting at that table last night, hearing my son announce our new President was something as a parent that I will never forget. How incredible for the children of our generation to have been included. That is how you rear future leaders.

And I'll bet that these children are going to keep watching - and pay attention - to what happens the next 4 years. I can't WAIT until that day 4 years from now, when my son is 10 and my daughter then 6, to have a round table about the election. That's America, people. And no matter if the man in the White House is who you voted for, I will always be proud to be an American - and so will my children.

Dr. King once said, "I have a dream...that one day my children will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." I am so proud that my son notices people because of their character and not their skin color. Granted, he probably doesn't know Obama's agenda or platform, but still, I am proud of my son for carrying out the dream.