Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Evidently, it's politically incorrect to be a boy

My son joined a travelling baseball team for this summer. So far, we've spent over $500 so our 9-year-old son can play. Millions of kids across third world countries play this game with sticks and rocks, but we've managed to turn it into a pasttime for elite rich kids. Congratulations, America.

And yet, my son is having a blast. My husband didn't get to play as a child, so he's determined to give his son the opportunity he didn't have. How can I complain?

It's sort of like Boy Scouts. My husband (a very liberal guy) is now the troop leader, and he works hard to make the troop meetings more accommodating for young boys with special needs. As a result, my son has become a better friend to a disabled boy. That's great on a local level, but I KNOW the national organization has very discriminatory policies towards homosexuals. I love what the group is doing on a local level, but I can NOT support the organization as a whole.

With my disapproval of the way our society handles sports and scouting, I'm condemning a huge portion of my son's childhood. How can a mother do that? My current plan of action is to let things stand as they are and explain my concerns someday when he's more able to understand.

His dad is a great guy, so I'm convinced my son will get there eventually as well. In the meantime, I'll suffer through the politically incorrect tribulation of boys having fun...