Not Interested

"Sorry, I'm not interested in politics. Good night." 

"Henry dear, who was that?"

"Some local campaign volunteer asking me to vote." 

"Is there an election this year?"  

"Liz, there's an election every year. These damn people want you to believe that each election is more important than the last. It gets old after a while." 

"Well, I think it's nice they found something they believe in. It's not easy to talk to strangers on the phone." 

"Agree to disagree, hon. Next time, I'll let the call go to voicemail. Anyway, what's for supper tonight?" 

"I'm making ground beef casserole."

"What happened to our usual Friday night chicken?" 

"Unfortunately, prices at the local supermarket have gone up recently."

"Typical. Probably the result of some immigrant farmers somewhere who simply can't figure out how to catch a damn chicken!" 

"Now, Henry. Don't you go blaming these prices on some far-off immigrants. Ever since our town got a second Wal-Mart, prices at our local supermarkets have shot up. I wish the town council never approved that second location!" 

"That's a bunch of baloney, Liz! That Wal-Mart has prices for folks from all walks of life. Besides, our town councilors have been there forever, don't you think they know what's best for this town?" 

"I...guess so." 

"See? That's why they get re-elected every year, or every two years. I'm not sure which. All I know is that none of them retire, so they must feel like they're making a difference in this town!"  

"What about the mayor?" 

"What about him?" 

"It's just that, well, he's been in office for over 30 years. Don't you think that we're due for changes around here? The roads are still pretty banged up. Our library still has outdated computers. I hear from my book club that it's hard for new folks to come into town due to the high price of renting. You think we're due for a new mayor soon?" 

"Now, Liz. You know Mayor Jones grew up here. Worked his way up from school board to city council to mayor. Learned politics watching his dad, who was a state representative for all those years. What better person would you want in charge of the town?" 

"Well, I guess experience is nice. I just wonder sometimes if maybe a new, younger candidate might bring in some fresh ideas."

"Fresh ideas? The last person who challenged Mayor Jones came to our home two years ago and her fresh idea was expanding recycling services from once every other week to once a week. I didn't even bother to hear the rest of her platform because I was already bored!" 

"Henry, that poor woman! She was just trying to relate to you. She probably saw the grotesque dumpster outside the elementary school down the street and assumed that it would be a good way to find something that folks in the neighborhood cared about." 

"Bah! Nobody cares about trash, especially trash by an elementary school dumpster. Speaking of school, where are the boys? Dinner will be ready soon." 

"They're upstairs in their rooms, studying."  

"Studying? On a Friday? What's wrong with them? Why aren't they out playing with their friends?"

"Oh, Henry. You've seen how stressed they've been of late! Ben has his SAT II subject tests coming up, and even though last year's courses were taught entirely online, he's still expected to know the material as if he had been taught in a regular classroom." 

"As he should. He shouldn't get any special advantages just because he had to learn differently the past year. After all, isn't everyone in the same boat?" 

"Well, not exactly. After our school board voted to ban Critical Race Theory prior to the start of school, Ben has felt that his U.S. history class has been extremely watered down. He doesn't feel like he's learning true history because his teacher is unwilling to teach any subjects the school board identified as 'controversial.'"

"Well, good for our school board then! That's why we trust those board members to make recommendations for our kids. Ben shouldn't be learning any of that critical race nonsense and he shouldn't apply to any school that would require him to learn about it!"

"But Henry, aren't you concerned about the folks making these decisions? After all there's not a single teacher on the school board and they all come from the same part of town. Shouldn't teachers have a voice about what they can teach and shouldn't the school board be more reflective of the community?" 

"Not at all. I trust the school board to make the best decisions for our kids."

"Even after the whole mask debacle?" 

"Look, Liz. We ain't gonna talk about the mask 'debacle' as you call it anymore. The school board made what it thought was the best decision at the time. It's not their fault that there was a breakout at Ronnie's elementary school. After all, our son didn't catch COVID so we did our job as parents!" 

"But what about the parents whose kids did catch COVID? Many of them spoke at the community meeting but the school board ignored them. They even ignored Dr. Johnston, whose been a pediatrician in this town for 40 years!" 

"What do you want them to do, Liz? You can't live your life in fear. Ben and Ronnie don't get to choose the mask policies at their schools just like you and I don't get to choose the price of chicken for our Friday night dinner. Some things are simply beyond our control." 

"I guess. Still, I wish there was some way to make changes around here."

"Well, there ain't. This is how it's been and how it'll be for the foreseeable future. Now, call the boys down for supper. Let's eat before someone inevitably tries to interrupt us during dinner to tell us about some stupid local election coming up next month."