Unreconstructed hippie

As a reporter, I can't put political bumper stickers on my car. I have to be credibly neutral.
But of course we reporters do have opinions and we can be pretty passionate about them. The trick is, we have to be able to leave all that at the door when we report on a story.
I'm an unreconstructed hippie and an unrepentant liberal. Now, that doesn't mean I don't respect other opinions. I have a very conservative son and some pretty conservative friends.
I also have a couple of bumper stickers that aren't political, and they give my conservative loved ones pause.
One says, "Be all you can be: Love your neighbor."
The other says, "I can't believe I'm still protesting this crap."
They get a lot of attention in parking lots. Tonight, when I came out of the grovery store, a woman was taking a picture of the second one with her phone to send to a friend.
I love that. I kind of mix my hippie-ness with my Christianity. I protest -- even if I don't go to public demonstrations -- the fact that 47 million people don't have access to quality health care, and that people can work two full-time jobs and not earn enough to support themselves and their familes while big business exploits them to get ever richer and more powerful. I object to war and the death penalty -- still.
So this person who was taking a photo of my bumper sticker told me how much she loved it and the man with her told her we all have to work on a local level to change things. I love that, but I don't think alone that will fix things. We each have to get involved on every level we can to make things better.
Learn about the issues and vote. Volunteer where you feel most passionate and help fix things, whether it be the environment, the classroom or the homeless shelter. It's pretty simple. Your kids will follow your example.
As I said, my son is conservative, and he gets a kick out of the kids asking me questions about my liberal views. Sometimes the kids agree with me. I really love that.