I recently was in the area of a Barack Obama rally, and I couldn’t help but laugh at some of the creative ways supporters showed their enthusiasm. There were, of course, the array of t-shirts and buttons and hats and stickers—one of my favorite stickers stuck to the side of an older Caucasian lady’s purse and boasted, “OLD WHITE WOMEN FOR OBAMA.” I also witnessed a small dog that happily wore an Obama button attached to its sweater. I have to admit that the small, patriotically decorated dog pulled at the heartstrings, but I think the many children that eagerly followed their parents and guardians for a fun day of celebrating Barack Obama surpass the dog any day. Despite the fact that the children were undeniably adorable—especially one small girl whose tiny t-shirt spelled out “OBAMA” in multicolored toy building blocks—I can’t help but wonder what sort of implications exposing children to strong political feelings might have on their young and moldable minds.
Unlike the dog, the children will be voters someday. Are we already at such an early age destined to adhere to a certain political identity? Many scholars agree that one of the biggest indicators of political preference is the political preference of one’s parents and family. What percentage of the children who attended the rally will vote primarily Democrat in the future? And in voting so, do they actually think rationally about their decision, or does somewhere in the forgotten channels of their brains a flicker of positive emotion flair up, because of an ice cream cone they had at a Barack Obama rally 20 years earlier?
I don’t mean to simplify the matter and suggest that ice cream will make a Democrat out of a child, but I do suggest that years of persuasion and positive associations encouraged by trusted individuals can and does greatly influence how one may vote. Before the Barack Obama rally, I heard Karl Rove speak at a nearby university. Inbetween the attacks on Barack Obama’s “lack of experience” he mentioned that Abe Lincoln gave some advice about persuading voters: among other things, undecided voters should be talked to by someone whom they trust. For many children, the people whom they trust the most are their parents and other family members. If mommy says “Barack Obama is better than John McCain,” the child forms a positive association with Barack Obama and a negative association with John McCain.
Having no children of my own, I cannot offer advice as to how to raise a child. I believe that parents have the right to choose how to raise their children and the obligation to ensure that how they raise their children contributes to the prosperity and growth of the children. I’m not about to tell someone that he or she cannot express their opinions to their children, but I do think it is important that parents and other family members realize the enormous influence they have on their children. Does anyone (perhaps who actually has had the amazing experience of guiding a child in this strange world) have any suggestions? How can we, as adults, encourage critical thought concerning politics in our children?
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One way that parents can encourage critical thinking about politics in their children is to expose children to both sides of a debate or both candidates. I think it's possible for parents to share their strong beliefs and feelings while at the same time modeling the ability to judiciously look at the other side arguments.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think it’s great that parents are getting their kids involved in politics at a young age, but sometimes I am not sure where the line is drawn between knowledge of the political process and indoctrination. Certainly, there are groups who take advantage of the youth by provoking them to conform to a standard. One example in particular I’m reminded of is in the documentary ‘Jesus Camp’: while talking to a camera man, one of the heads of the camp says that they like to get children into the camp as young as possible, and that they don’t bother with adults and older youth, because children are easiest to indoctrinate when they’re younger. This is a frightening thought for me.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I do not feel that taking your child to a pro-partisan rally is the same by any means of indoctrination. So long as parents allow their children to come up with their own views rather than simply tell them what’s right and who they should be voting for, there is nothing wrong with letting your children know your own political association. The way I was raised, my parents never talked about politics at all, yet I turned out to be a political enthusiast, and it turns out, my views are very different from my parents, which I only found out recently.
Going to rallies and listening to people you trust does make a difference in one’s opinion, but isn’t necessarily a deciding factor. Hopefully, the children whose parents push them to get involved in their politics will see why their parents feel the way they do about a candidate, and it is very likely the child will have the same type of feelings due to the nature of the household. Also, I feel it is up to the children themselves to research, rather than follow their parents lead and not let themselves be indoctrinated. We all have the ability to create our own opinions, and information is everywhere! I think that more and more people are influenced not so much by their families as their peers or other influential personas in their lives. I trust that this nation’s future will do a good job of researching their candidates and making smart decisions to benefit our world.
I recall talking about this a good deal in my poli-science course last year—the phenomenon that an individual’s strongest political socialization comes from his or her family. The implications of this cultural fact are even more interesting if you consider what progressive think-guru George Lakoff says about political perspectives.
ReplyDeleteAs Lakoff sees it, a person’s political worldview comes from how they view the dynamics of a “typical” nuclear family. The conservative viewpoint is one which sees a family as best run by a strict father, a stern disciplinarian who must teach his inherently naughty children right from wrong. The liberal view comes from that of a nurturing mother, a forgiving parent who feels personally liable for the well-being of her offspring.
Assuming then that a family employs parental values roughly similar those of their political worldview, then American families might simply be factories perpetuating future partisanship. Not only is a child’s political worldview familially influenced directly by the partisanship beliefs of his or her parents, but also indirectly and implicitly through the predominant parenting values he or she experiences.
I particularly agree with Dr. McLovin (PhD) about encouraging youth to think critically and for themselves. In fact, in an era rampantly overcome with partisanship I think we could all use a little critical thinking ourselves when formulating our political opinions.