Learning From the Candidates
It’s a great year to teach your kids the rules of compromise and negotiation… and point out plain old bad behavior. All the build-up to the two parties’ conventions, which will take place this month and next, has involved a lot of emotional input that is based on what we consider basic human decency.
How can you use what has happened so far to communicate the following in your family?
Trying hard. Both candidates clearly want this job. They have knocked themselves out for months traveling the country, shaking hands, making speeches, honing their style. When your teen says, “that’s too hard. I could never do that,” just point out that this was the year that a woman and an African-American were at the top of the list for the highest office in the land. And that right now, the Democratic and Republican candidates for President are working 24/7 to sway the hearts and minds of the rest of us that they will do the best job.
Name-calling. The racial, feminist, and agist nastiness that went on during the campaign is beyond bad manners. What we will see before November in the campaigns of the two presumptive candidates is going to be equally unpleasant. When your kids are angry and looking for a scapegoat, remind them that their “enemy” is a person with his or her own strengths and weaknesses, but color, gender, age, and religious affiliation have nothing to do with the type of person he or she may be.
Being a good loser. It took a while (maybe too long), but the final primaries and delegate count gave us a clear winner. And the “loser,” who may well be in some position of power in the next administration, was able to get the message across that we have to unite behind the person who has been chosen as Number One. Your teens can learn a special lesson about grace and humility and what cooperation means, even when they don’t “win.”
Working Together. As we make our way toward the actual race for the presidency, between an experienced war veteran with a lot of Senate years under his belt and a young charismatic leader who is taking the world by storm, some very disparate factions will have to come together. Our leaders have to provide an example, to show us how to let go of old grudges and band together for the greater good. What better lesson for a teen to learn—that he or she may not be the center of the universe, but part of a much bigger picture that involves joining forces with others.
See timely resources on the election.