I was reading one of the blogs of my friend, Kim, where she mentioned the craziness being passed along to our children.
Obama, according to 5th graders (here and in Tucson and probably elsewhere as well), is going to:
1. Change the American flag
2. Make kids go to school on Saturdays (and maybe even Sundays, depending on who you listen to)
3. Take their fun away by making them have longer school days
4. AND...he likes black children better than white children
What are we telling our kids that they are feeling this way?
Lauren got some homework from her teacher about the election - percentages of votes, who won, etc. One of the questions was "Will the new president be good or bad for the country?" WHAT??? Shane and I were both separately and together appalled by this question. Don't get me wrong, we are not Obama fans in this family, but he is the new President-elect and with that comes a patriotic respect for the post if not the person himself. And we would not be more happy with the question had McCain won. We told Lauren to tell the teacher she would answer the question in 4 years when we had a better idea of whether promises were kept or broken.
I hope, as Americans, and more importantly as parents we are teaching Lauren we can disagree with people. And that is not a bad thing - it's called democracy and freedom and we are incredibly blessed to have that right without fear of punishment. BUT, especially as a child, she needs to show respect for all adults, whether we agree or disagree with them.
I feel as though I am rambling and not quite getting across the point I am trying to make, but I am also deep cleaning the house and I have a head full of fumes... :-)
I think overall, we, as adults need to be very cognizant of what we are telling our children. They repeat it all (and sometimes even repeat it wrong) and believe it. I want Lauren to have her own opinions and do worry they will differ from mine, but she is entitled to have them as long as the information she received in order to make up her mind is accurate.
1 comment:
Wow.. what an assignment! I pretty much have the same views as you. Being a military family.. we are worried about what our future will be (hence the retirement talk) BUT.. Obama will be my husbands new boss.. so, what can we do? Be respectful, but still voice our concern. I think its great when we can have open conversations about this with our kids, teach them the truth so that they can make educated decisions, not just follow the crowd. My daughter's school had mock elections, and when about 1/3 of the class voted for McCain, the teacher wanted to know who they were? WHAT??? Scary...
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