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Truth, lies and politics for kids
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Published: October 30, 2008
"Mommy, Barack Obama told a lie!"
This was pronounced with great astonishment and horror by my 4-year-old son the other day. In kid world, there are few greater offenses than getting caught in an out-right fib.
When I asked him what he was talking about, he gave me a very earnest nod and said "Obama told a lie. I heard it on a commercial."
You've gotta love election season.
I launched into an explanation about how both candidates tend to stretch and twist the truth a little as the big day draws near in an attempt to get people to believe their side of things.
But trying to explain negative campaign tactics to a 4-year-old is like trying to get a Sarah Palin supporter to wear an "Obama Mama" T-shirt — it's just not going to happen.
So he's left confused and thinking badly about both candidates — either Obama told a lie, or John McCain told a lie about Obama lying. It's almost impossible for adults to sift through all the muck both parties are slinging, let alone a child.
It's a shame that so much of what kids absorb about the political process is negative.
They hear crazy stories from friends at school — my favorite so far has been that if John McCain wins, we'll all be living in vans down by the river and if Obama wins, terrorists will blow up the White House. I kid you not. This is what some kids in one of their classes said.
And much of what they hear on TV is even worse because the images and messages are often frightening and untrue.
We had our 7-year-old, Josh, watch the last debate, and he listened and has drawn his own conclusions about the candidates and their views. And he's started to question some of those ads on TV, which is music to my ears.
We lined up earlier this week with both boys to cast our ballots at an early voting station. They were impressed to see a line out the door and amazed at the number of people who had already voted and the millions more who will.
While I filled out my ballot, I talked with Josh about who I was picking and why. And I let him help feed the ballot into the scanner.
As we were leaving, he said he couldn't wait until 11 more years so he could vote, too.
Both boys strutted around with their "I voted early" stickers on their shirts, and when the next campaign ad came on TV, I happily hit mute.
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