I Believe That Children Are Our Future

I believe it's important that our children are raised with a heightened sense of their civic duties. If we want to preserve freedom, and I most definitely do, we must not take it for granted. So whenever it's election time, no matter how small the election, I talk about it a little bit with Casey and make sure he understands that we think it is very important to vote in America, every chance we get. If you struggle with how to teach your children about democracy, perhaps I can help you -- serve as a model for civic-minded parents everywhere, if you will.

Children, I believe, are more inclined to join the ranks of the Socialists ("Hey!! That's not FAIR!! He has more candy than me!! Make him share!!") and not the Capitalists (sometimes it doesn't matter how much money you offer them, they aren't going to clean up the dog vomit), so the virtues of democracy must be taught from an early age. As you know, I am a stellar parent and I really want nothing more than to help you along this parenting journey. So I offer you this sample dialogue that actually occurred between Casey and myself about a week ago after I voted early -- you should feel free to adopt this dialogue to assist you in opening up the conversation with your own children.

Me: Casey, I voted today.

Casey: Are you going to win?

Me: Huh?

Casey: Did you vote for yourself? Are you going to win?

Me: Uh . . . no. I'm not running for anything.

Casey: Oh. Well, I want to be President!!

Me: No you don't. That's the absolute worst job in the whole world.

Casey: No it's not. Being King of Spain would be the worst job in the whole world.

Me: Why would being King of Spain be the worst job in the whole world?

Casey: Because you wouldn't know the language.

So you see, with carefully guided dialogue, your children can learn so much about our democratic society. Just watch for teachable moments.