Today I Am Still Just a Bill...

I think I've typed here before about Mr. Z and his insatiable need for justice in the world. Not that it's always 'true' justice, in fact, it's often Mr. Z-centric justice, but he does seem to focus on many of the inequities in the world and he spends a lot of time (a LOT of time) discussing his thoughts with the old lady and myself.

He's obviously picked up on the household political leanings, and, while we've never forced our opinions of the current administration on him, he has come to his own conclusion that most of our country's leaders are "really mean."

Here's a classic situation: he'll be playing some bizarre game with Miss O (say... "Mouselet and Butch in Jump-a-Roony Trouble") and I'll overhear one of them say, "And then she bonks him in the head with her shoe!" I'll chime in with a , "Guys, we don't play any games where anyone gets bonked in the head with a shoe or with anything else. That's too violent."

Then Mr. Z will usually say something like, "Yeah, Miss O. That's something George Bush would do... right Dad?" And I'll say something like, "Well, I don't know if George Bush has ever really bonked anyone in the head with his shoe... but he does have us embroiled in a senseless and tragic war where thousands of innocent people are being killed so... anyway, just don't bonk anyone in the head, all right?"

So, anytime anything comes up where someone has done something wrong, or some injustice has been committed, Mr. Z is always there with a "Cuz that's what George Bush would do, right Dad?" Sometimes I lamely try to qualify with a little, "Well, Mr. Z, it's not always George Bush... he has a whole group of people that he's surrounded himself with who also... and that's not to say that they're necessarily evil people but... and there are some people who really agree with what he does but... um... yeah, you're right, George Bush probably does try to cut in line like that boy at camp did."

Tonight, at dinner, Mr. Z was clearing his plate and he whipped out, "George Bush is violating the Monroe Doctrine!" I was flummoxed. I wasn't even sure which one the Monroe Doctrine was. Was the one that stated that the US wouldn't get involved in conflicts between European powers and their colonies? Or was it the one that had something to do with dumping all that tea in the harbor? Or did it have something to do with levies? Or... whigs?

I told him he was probably right and that he should "go look up the Monroe Doctrine" just to make sure. And to report back to me and tell me what it said.

How the fuck should I know?! All I remember about my American History class was that I whizzed through the memorization of the preamble because of Schoolhouse Rock. And if they had done a Schoolhouse Rock on the Monroe Doctrine, I would've fucking known that, too. But they didn't. So I don't.

But I sure as hell know what Conjunction Junction's function is. It has something to do with trains... I think.