What Do Kids Really Understand About Politics?

I was on the phone with my cousin, Erin getting feedback for my newest idea for an article. Erin was in the middle of working on a school project with her older child and discussing homework with her younger. Erin asked, “What did President Obama say in his speech that you watched in school?” In the background I heard a little voice say, “he said try, try again.” Then Erin said, “You must think he is pretty smart,” her daughter, Sarah (age 5) then replied, “Mm hmm, he knows lots of things.” Erin then said “like what?” - wanting to encourage her to continue and make her case. Sarah said, “Well he knows about money.” Erin then says in a skeptical voice hoping to get even more out of her daughter and says, “What does Obama know about money?” Sarah then replies, “He knows about change.” To that Erin and I immediately began to howl uncontrollably as Sarah stared dumbfounded as to what it was that we thought was so funny - as far as she was concerned she had not only answered the question but had supplied the evidence to prove it.

I decided to start this political rant a little differently with a bi- partisan joke. After I finished laughing and wiping the tears out of my eyes, I started thinking about children and politics and what did they really understand. Just recently President Obama, on September 8, 2009, made a speech that was specifically directed to school age children. The amount of controversy just the idea of this speech ignited was unbelievable. The Obama administration made it known prior to September 8^th that the speech would be focusing on the importance of education and perseverance. Apparently, Joe Wilson, sadly is not alone in thinking that our President is a liar. An alarming number of Americans believed that this was a brainwashing conspiracy directed at the school age children of America. The news in the days leading up to the speech was saturated with reports of irate individuals vexed and refusing to allow their children to attend school. Then I saw parents hysterically crying about their poor little children who’d be damaged by encouragement to stay in school and strive for excellence in education. OK not literally but that is how I internalized what I was seeing on television. Was it irrational for people to keep their children out of school because of a 16 minute speech addressed at doing well at school?

What was the impetus for all the fear? Where was the ignorance coming from? What could have been done differently to prevent all the controversy? What were people really afraid of? Did these people truly believe Obama would try and brainwash children? And lastly, what was it the people feared the children would be brainwashed into doing? I believe and feel strongly that our President is an honorable man, an extraordinary man, an intelligent man, a visionary; he is progressive, and he is an advocate for change but a “brainwasher”, someone capable of mind control? Obviously, I believe Obama can do many things but even I don’t believe he has super human powers. I don’t believe that these parents are bad people, perhaps a little misguided, delusional, misinformed, ignorant, resistant to change, definitely, but not bad nor do I feel that they are evil. I do believe that the fear is not of brainwashing children into becoming “teacup” socialist disguised as Democrats, but it is of them truly listening to Obama, his story, his encouragement and finding inspiration in that. Honestly even Obama’s strongest and most vehement opponents cannot deny, or negate the magnificence of what he was able to accomplish through hard work, perseverance and an education. To my horror, I have come to the conclusion that the fear is simply of the truth.

“Now I've given a lot of speeches about education. And I've talked a lot about responsibility.I've talked about your teachers' responsibility for inspiring you, and pushing you to learn. I've talked about your parents' responsibility for making sure you stay on track, and get your homework done, and don't spend every waking hour in front of the TV or with that Xbox. I've talked a lot about your government's responsibility for setting high standards, supporting teachers and principals, and turning around schools that aren't working where students aren't getting the opportunities they deserve. But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, and the best schools in the world – and none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities. Unless you show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed. And that's what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education. I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself. Every single one of you has something you're good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That's the opportunity an education can provide. Maybe you could be a good writer – maybe even good enough to write a book or articles in a newspaper – but you might not know it until you write a paper for your English class. Maybe you could be an innovator or an inventor – maybe even good enough to come up with the next iPhone or a new medicine or vaccine – but you might not know it until you do a project for your science class. Maybe you could be a mayor or a Senator or a Supreme Court Justice, but you might not know that until you join student government or the debate team. And no matter what you want to do with your life – I guarantee that you'll need an education to do it. “

Uh yeah, if I were a parent I would have opted to keep my kids out of school too – not!

*some names have been substituted*

*this work belongs to the owner it should not be copied or published without permission*

*the “teacup socialist” reference was inspired by a line in HBO’s True Blood (got to give credit where credit is due)*