Right the Wrong

"Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to reform"
Mark Twain (1904)

My oldest son started fifth grade this year. Every week, his Language Arts teacher makes his class write a paragraph about some topic of her discretion. A few weeks ago the topic was "What does the flag mean to you and why". The purpose is to get the kids to write an opinion and to support it using at least 5 sentences that include an opening and conclusion sentence.

So I ask him "What does the flag mean to you?", and he begins to rattle off stuff that I'm sure he heard from his friends in school. He mentions it being the 'symbol of our struggle' (whose struggle?). I cut him off and ask him again, "No...What does the American flag mean to YOU?". By now, I think he understands what I'm asking. You see, he's always been one to not 'rock the boat' and as a parent, I want him to have the ability to speak his own mind and stand up for himself with what he thinks is right.

So now he's thinking. And after about an hour, he has a couple of reasons why the flag means absolutely NOTHING to him! Now keep in mind, i don't necessarily agree with him, but he's now thinking critically, and for that I'm proud. My wife and I help him with his grammar and spelling and on he goes to school with his finished paragraph, including revisions and our corrections. This past weekend, I got a chance to see his grade and the teacher's comments. He received a 100 percent, with comments from the teacher appreciating his 'break from the norm'.

Lately, I've found myself on the minority side of decisions and I'm content with being there. Now if i can only convince people to stop trying to persuade me to go with the majority! You can quote all the facts you want, my stance is my stance and i will not be convinced to sway. I have my facts too that support my stance and what it means to me. For example, I've had a co-worker try to convince me why John McCain should be our next president. And part of his argument was "as a minority, you should rejoice if McCain is our next president since he will continue to lower taxes to keep money in your pocket..." I won't go into what i told them, however, they will probably never discuss politics with me ever again.

So what's the moral of the story here? Don't be upset if you're not able to convince someone to side with your opinion. Opinions are like assholes, everyone has one and prefers the smell of their own shit. Good day people :)