In the family I grew up in, we almost never talked about anything political.
I have a very vague recollection of seeing John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon debating on television when I was five, almost six, years old. I also recall watching television with my dad in 1967 and seeing news about Muhammad Ali refusing to fight in Vietnam.
My dad said something about “fighting for your country” but we didn’t discuss it.
In college, I majored in political science. I learned about different forms of government and about different political philosophies, but for some reason my college education did not give me any sense that I ought to participate in politics apart from voting. And I recall one lecture where the professor explained a logical rationale for not voting.
I recall going to precinct caucuses once, maybe twice, in St. Cloud, in the late 1980s. Likely because of the influence of the lawyers who then employed me, I went to the Republican caucuses. I also recall that one of those years I was a delegate at the St. Cloud Republican state Senate convention. But I really didn’t know what was going on, and I felt like I didn’t have time to learn about it.
