One Vegetable I'll Probably Force You to Eat

Barack Obama will be holding an election rally at Metro Park in Jacksonville this weekend. It's his first public appearance here since accepting the nomination to be the Democratic party's candidate for the presidency.

Of course his campaign is about much more than just politics, and although I don't think the color of his skin should be a deciding factor in whether he is elected to lead this nation or not -- the fact remains that his candidacy in and of itself is a historic event, especially considering the plight of African-Americans over the course of this nation's history.

My son is mixed.

Unfortunately, he's also 8 -- which leaves him blissfully ignorant of not only Obama's existence and importance, but of the reasons why this is such an landmark election, especially for families like ours.

This weekend is mine to spend with him, which puts me in the position to take him to this rally -- which I would like to be at not only because of my personal politics and interest and in this election, but I also because I really do think my son needs to see this, even if he might not fully comprehend the significance behind what is going on.

But just try telling him that.

Thus far I've had trouble getting him to understand the president angle, the election angle, the "hey it's at a park" angle, and the racial identity angle.

My son is aware of who he is and where he comes from, but at this age it's not something that's overwhelmingly important to him in his day-to-day life. And he certainly couldn't care less about politics, which is cool -- because the more I stress over it the more I kind of remember why I normally have such short patience for political nerds.

At the same time, I feel like if we skipped this thing to watch cartoons or run around the park it might come back to haunt me in about 10 years or so.

This is something he will eventually be glad he didn't miss.

Come to think of it, he complained the same way before I took him to see his first concert featuring George Clinton and the P-Funk All Stars. Something I think he might just thank me for later.

So yeah, there won't be a playground there. Or video games. Or toys of any kind. In fact, it will probably just be a lot of grown-ups standing around listening to someone talk.

But we're going, OK?

[Listening to:  Red Hot Chili Peppers – "Johnny, Kick a Hole in the Sky" ]