It happens every four years.  People either mobilize or shut down completely.  Folks either want to shut down their television and social networks for months or they speak out on their positions proudly.  The political process in the United States is a dirty and polarizing one.

What bothers me most about the campaign season is how people drag their children into it.  Why should a toddler be chanting “Obama!” on a playground?  What the heck does a 7 year old know about fascism or socialism?  It is one thing to instill your beliefs on your children, but please teach your children what is or is not appropriate behavior or discussion.  Most young children cannot discuss the intricacies involved in political debates.  They can’t discuss the wars in the Middle East or the national debt or whether or not the $716 billion should be considered a cut or a savings or whether or not our tax money should have bailed out Wall Street or the auto industry.

I find myself very engaged this year just as I was four years ago.  One thing I try to avoid, though, is to directly discuss politics with my child.  She knows who the president is.  I do not tell her whether he is a good guy that got a raw deal from his predecessor or a bum that should be voted out due to a failure to lead.  We vaguely discuss social issues and share our values with her.  We do this, because we expect our values to be her values and morals up until she has the ability to think for herself and make her own decisions.  We teach love and respect for our environment and every living creature above all else.  The specifics, well, they can be ironed out in the near future as her brain begins to have the ability to comprehend these things.

Our children are not our personal puppets for them to be holding up campaign signs preaching an agenda they don’t quite understand.