Intro to Politics

I have been asked by numerous people that befriended me on my journey to freedom, how I became involved in politics. So I've decided it might make a funny blog post to share this with everyone.

I first became involved with politics in the 1980s. Maybe even before that as at one point my parents used to take my brother and I on demonstrations with them, and I was born in 1977 and he was born in 1979. So, that's the short answer, but how did I become actively involved in politics, this is a second issue that's pretty amusing actually.

I was watching TV one day, and for the umpteenth time my favorite TV show, the Cosby Show had been pre-empted by a presidential press conference. Naturally, I wasn't allowed to watch it my mother hated Reagan after all she didn't want me to be corrupted by the logical arguments he'd be making. I became incensed about this, and she told me to write the president. Part of me thought this idea was ridiculous, I was a child and children don't vote why would he write me back? After all it isn't as if I was writing to him about nuclear weapons or something of substance. I mean would he really move his conferences for me?

I deliberated about this for a few days and then decided to go ahead and write the president. I'm thinking this was early 1986 or maybe it was 1985. I can't remember exactly, I met Reagan in 1986 and I hadn't met him yet when I did this. Anyway, I wrote the president a letter. It went something like this "Dear President Reagan: My name is Rebecca and I am 8-9 years old (whichever I was then). I'd really appreciate it if you would please move your press conferences. I've been trying to watch the Cosby Show for several weeks now and you've been interfering with my ability to do this..." I can't remember all of it, and this is probably not the entire verbatim version. I went to the post office with my mother to mail my letter, and everyone asked me what I was writing the president about. I think they found it funny that a child would take the time to write, let alone about such a topic as this...I mean it's a TV show, but for me it was more than that.

A few weeks later I got a letter back from President Reagan. I had wanted to keep it, but I wasn't able to do so because my mother ultimately threw it out. I found out a few years ago this was written on personal stationary. This is also most likely not the entire verbatim letter, but Reagan basically said, "Dear Rebecca: Thank you for taking the time to write me about this important topic (I think maybe he was mocking me). I have to hold my press conferences when most Americans will be watching and it so happens this is during the Cosby Show. Perhaps you would be willing to watch my press conferences and become involved in the political process. I am moved that a child of your age would take the time to write me...."

Later in 1986 I would be selected to go to a rally in New Jersey where Reagan would be at. He waved at me, I think maybe we even shook hands at the event afterwards. I never told him that I was the child who wrote him about the topic of the Cosby Show. I was super excited to be able to greet the motorcade though.

This was a very gratifying experience, as I was touched that he wrote me back personally, I always felt he had done so himself since it was signed Ronald Reagan. My mother tried to convince me that it was an aid that did it, but I was steadfast in my conviction that it was in fact Reagan who wrote me back. I was also gratified with the way he asked me to become involved in the political process. I thought that was just totally cool, of course I didn't know back then that Youth for Reagan is what won him the election and how much power young people really have. I just loved the fact that he had made this comment to me.

I was sparked onto a lifetime of civil awareness by this interaction. My desire to become an internationalist came much later, in the 1990s actually, but that's a rather dull story so I will keep it to myself unless anyone asks for me to tell it.

RAF