“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, ensure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”
It was just last week when my brilliant editors here at Ravishly asked me to contribute a piece on how to talk to kids about this election. “Oh yay!” I thought. “That will be easy peasey!” See, I talk to my kids about politics all the time. Politics are my favorite thing, and my son took note of my interest in election coverage as early as 2012. He’s been right there listening in during the 2016 race as well.
In 2012, I explained to my then-four-year-old son that I thought Mr. Obama and Mr. Romney were both good men with some good ideas. But I felt that Mr. Obama’s list of priorities and operating plans matched up more closely with my ideas about government. Things like direct versus indirect support for impoverished people, for example. He got it and I felt good about raising an informed citizen.
Then during the 2016 primary, I told my now-eight-year-old and his four-year-old sister that Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton were both good people who have done good jobs in the past. I also explained that I thought Secretary Clinton had a better set of relationships with the people she would be working with and it would be easier for her to get things done. That’s why I supported her.
They got it. This all made sense to them.
If all had been normal in the general election, I would have talked to them about two candidates for President who are equals. Two career public servants with a common idea of what America can be but different plans for how to make that happen. Two good people who anyone can respect for their basic decency.
Then the campaign took a turn.
Look, I won’t pretend to have been even-handed in my descriptions of Donald Trump when I talk to my kids. I don’t have a high opinion of him. I don’t think the presidency is a job for governmental n00bs with no prior indication that public service even appeals to them. I don’t think the skill set for hosting a combative TV show is the same as what's needed for dealing with international diplomacy. And frankly, Trump strikes me as being an asshole.
My dislike isn’t hidden.
Never before have I felt such abject fear and loathing toward a presidential candidate. I have never looked at a candidate for President and thought, “I am not safe in his presence. My mother and sister are not safe in his presence. My children are not safe in his presence.”
But I will claim at least an attempt to go high when it comes to talking about him to my kids. In fact, I stopped short one afternoon when my son and a friend started riffing on Trump and the jokes got a little too rough. I looked at these two kids and reminded them that Donald Trump has a son about their age. How would they feel if kids talked about their dads the way they were talking about Trump? They were chastened and the jokes stopped. I felt like I was doing a good job of keeping everyone’s humanity at the forefront of the discussion.
But you know what? I don’t have the first fucking idea what to say now that I’ve heard tape of a presidential candidate bragging that because he’s a star, he can grab women by their pussies.
The night that tape was released, the only thing I could think to do was stage an emergency refresher session about who gets to touch whose genitals and what to do if there’s unauthorized touching. Let me assure you that politics has never inspired me to talk about rape culture quite like this.
Now it’s days later and I’m at a loss for what more to say to my kids about this election. I’ve been aware of presidential politics since the Reagan years. My first election was 1992. Never before have I felt such abject fear and loathing toward a presidential candidate. I have never looked at a candidate for President and thought, “I am not safe in his presence. My mother and sister are not safe in his presence. My children are not safe in his presence.”
How do I explain that to my kids?
It’s not just me struggling with this. I’ve heard of schools cancelling class projects related to the campaign because the subject matter has become inappropriate for kids. That’s unprecedented. I’ve certainly deemed certain policy subjects too complicated for little brains, but I’ve never felt the need to turn off the TV because the candidates themselves were R-rated.
I would like to be able to sum this up with a meta lesson we can all pass on to our kids about how being a good person every day is the path to a brighter future. But at this point, I think the ones who need some lesson-ing are us, the adults.
We need to rethink government and politics, and perhaps the best way to do it is to visualize it the way we would explain it to our kids.
I would tell my children — and I would tell adults — that the president’s job is to promote the common good. The president makes sure Americans have the things they need to be happy, healthy, and safe. The president needs to be a person who cares so much about the country that he or she wants to help make it the best place it can be.
I think the only thing I can do now is sit down with my children and read the Preamble of the Constitution. Then we can talk together about whether or not the candidates can live up to those ideals. Because that’s what matters the most.
“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, ensure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”
It was just last week when my brilliant editors here at Ravishly asked me to contribute a piece on how to talk to kids about this election. “Oh yay!” I thought. “That will be easy peasey!” See, I talk to my kids about politics all the time. Politics are my favorite thing, and my son took note of my interest in election coverage as early as 2012. He’s been right there listening in during the 2016 race as well.
In 2012, I explained to my then-4-year-old son that I thought Mr. Obama and Mr. Romney were both good men with some good ideas. But I felt that Mr. Obama’s list of priorities and operating plans matched up more closely with my ideas about government. Things like direct versus indirect support for impoverished people, for example. He got it and I felt good about raising an informed citizen.
Then during the 2016 primary, I told my now-8-year-old and his 4-year-old sister that Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton were both good people who have done good jobs in the past. I also explained that I thought Secretary Clinton had a better set of relationships with the people she would be working with and it would be easier for her to get things done. That’s why I supported her.
They got it. This all made sense to them.
If all had been normal in the general election, I would have talked to them about two candidates for President who are equals. Two career public servants with a common idea of what America can be but different plans for how to make that happen. Two good people who anyone can respect for their basic decency.
Then the campaign took a turn.
Look, I won’t pretend to have been even-handed in my descriptions of Donald Trump when I talk to my kids. I don’t have a high opinion of him. I don’t think the presidency is a job for governmental n00bs with no prior indication that public service even appeals to them. I don’t think the skill set for hosting a combative TV show is the same as what's needed for dealing with international diplomacy. And frankly, Trump strikes me as being an asshole.
My dislike isn’t hidden.
Never before have I felt such abject fear and loathing toward a presidential candidate. I have never looked at a candidate for President and thought, “I am not safe in his presence. My mother and sister are not safe in his presence. My children are not safe in his presence.”
But I will claim at least an attempt to go high when it comes to talking about him to my kids. In fact, I stopped short one afternoon when my son and a friend started riffing on Trump and the jokes got a little too rough. I looked at these two kids and reminded them that Donald Trump has a son about their age. How would they feel if kids talked about their dads the way they were talking about Trump? They were chastened and the jokes stopped. I felt like I was doing a good job of keeping everyone’s humanity at the forefront of the discussion.
But you know what? I don’t have the first fucking idea what to say now that I’ve heard tape of a presidential candidate bragging that because he’s a star, he can grab women by their pussies.
The night that tape was released the only thing I could think to do was stage an emergency refresher session about who gets to touch whose genitals and what to do if there’s unauthorized touching. Let me assure you that politics has never inspired me to talk about rape culture quite like this.
Now it’s days later and I’m at a loss for what more to say to my kids about this election. I’ve been aware of presidential politics since the Reagan years. My first election was 1992. Never before have I felt such abject fear and loathing toward a presidential candidate. I have never looked at a candidate for President and thought, “I am not safe in his presence. My mother and sister are not safe in his presence. My children are not safe in his presence.”
How do I explain that to my kids?
It’s not just me struggling with this. I’ve heard of schools cancelling class projects related to the campaign because the subject matter has become inappropriate for kids. That’s unprecedented. I’ve certainly deemed certain policy subjects too complicated for little brains, but I’ve never felt the need to turn off the TV because the candidates themselves were R-rated.
I would like to be able to sum this up with a meta lesson we can all pass on to our kids about how being a good person every day is the path to a brighter future. But at this point, I think the ones who need some lesson-ing are us, the adults.
We need to rethink government and politics, and perhaps the best way to do it is to visualize it the way we would explain it to our kids.
I would tell my children — and I would tell adults — that the president’s job is to promote the common good. The president makes sure Americans have the things they need to be happy, healthy, and safe. The president needs to be a person who cares so much about the country that he or she wants to help make it the best place it can be.
I think the only thing I can do now is sit down with my children and read the Preamble of the Constitution. Then we can talk together about whether or not the candidates can live up to those ideals. Because that’s what matters the most.
“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, ensure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”
It was just last week when my brilliant editors here at Ravishly asked me to contribute a piece on how to talk to kids about this election. “Oh yay!” I thought. “That will be easy peasey!” See, I talk to my kids about politics all the time. Politics are my favorite thing, and my son took note of my interest in election coverage as early as 2012. He’s been right there listening in during the 2016 race as well.
In 2012, I explained to my then-4-year-old son that I thought Mr. Obama and Mr. Romney were both good men with some good ideas. But I felt that Mr. Obama’s list of priorities and operating plans matched up more closely with my ideas about government. Things like direct versus indirect support for impoverished people, for example. He got it and I felt good about raising an informed citizen.
Then during the 2016 primary, I told my now-8-year-old and his 4-year-old sister that Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton were both good people who have done good jobs in the past. I also explained that I thought Secretary Clinton had a better set of relationships with the people she would be working with and it would be easier for her to get things done. That’s why I supported her.
They got it. This all made sense to them.
If all had been normal in the general election, I would have talked to them about two candidates for President who are equals. Two career public servants with a common idea of what America can be but different plans for how to make that happen. Two good people who anyone can respect for their basic decency.
Then the campaign took a turn.
Look, I won’t pretend to have been even-handed in my descriptions of Donald Trump when I talk to my kids. I don’t have a high opinion of him. I don’t think the presidency is a job for governmental n00bs with no prior indication that public service even appeals to them. I don’t think the skill set for hosting a combative TV show is the same as what's needed for dealing with international diplomacy. And frankly, Trump strikes me as being an asshole.
My dislike isn’t hidden.
Never before have I felt such abject fear and loathing toward a presidential candidate. I have never looked at a candidate for President and thought, “I am not safe in his presence. My mother and sister are not safe in his presence. My children are not safe in his presence.”
But I will claim at least an attempt to go high when it comes to talking about him to my kids. In fact, I stopped short one afternoon when my son and a friend started riffing on Trump and the jokes got a little too rough. I looked at these two kids and reminded them that Donald Trump has a son about their age. How would they feel if kids talked about their dads the way they were talking about Trump? They were chastened and the jokes stopped. I felt like I was doing a good job of keeping everyone’s humanity at the forefront of the discussion.
But you know what? I don’t have the first fucking idea what to say now that I’ve heard tape of a presidential candidate bragging that because he’s a star, he can grab women by their pussies.
The night that tape was released the only thing I could think to do was stage an emergency refresher session about who gets to touch whose genitals and what to do if there’s unauthorized touching. Let me assure you that politics has never inspired me to talk about rape culture quite like this.
Now it’s days later and I’m at a loss for what more to say to my kids about this election. I’ve been aware of presidential politics since the Reagan years. My first election was 1992. Never before have I felt such abject fear and loathing toward a presidential candidate. I have never looked at a candidate for President and thought, “I am not safe in his presence. My mother and sister are not safe in his presence. My children are not safe in his presence.”
How do I explain that to my kids?
It’s not just me struggling with this. I’ve heard of schools cancelling class projects related to the campaign because the subject matter has become inappropriate for kids. That’s unprecedented. I’ve certainly deemed certain policy subjects too complicated for little brains, but I’ve never felt the need to turn off the TV because the candidates themselves were R-rated.
I would like to be able to sum this up with a meta lesson we can all pass on to our kids about how being a good person every day is the path to a brighter future. But at this point, I think the ones who need some lesson-ing are us, the adults.
We need to rethink government and politics, and perhaps the best way to do it is to visualize it the way we would explain it to our kids.
I would tell my children — and I would tell adults — that the president’s job is to promote the common good. The president makes sure Americans have the things they need to be happy, healthy, and safe. The president needs to be a person who cares so much about the country that he or she wants to help make it the best place it can be.
I think the only thing I can do now is sit down with my children and read the Preamble of the Constitution. Then we can talk together about whether or not the candidates can live up to those ideals. Because that’s what matters the most.
“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, ensure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”
It was just last week when my brilliant editors here at Ravishly asked me to contribute a piece on how to talk to kids about this election. “Oh yay!” I thought. “That will be easy peasey!” See, I talk to my kids about politics all the time. Politics are my favorite thing, and my son took note of my interest in election coverage as early as 2012. He’s been right there listening in during the 2016 race as well.
In 2012, I explained to my then-4-year-old son that I thought Mr. Obama and Mr. Romney were both good men with some good ideas. But I felt that Mr. Obama’s list of priorities and operating plans matched up more closely with my ideas about government. Things like direct versus indirect support for impoverished people, for example. He got it and I felt good about raising an informed citizen.
Then during the 2016 primary, I told my now-8-year-old and his 4-year-old sister that Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton were both good people who have done good jobs in the past. I also explained that I thought Secretary Clinton had a better set of relationships with the people she would be working with and it would be easier for her to get things done. That’s why I supported her.
They got it. This all made sense to them.
If all had been normal in the general election, I would have talked to them about two candidates for President who are equals. Two career public servants with a common idea of what America can be but different plans for how to make that happen. Two good people who anyone can respect for their basic decency.
Then the campaign took a turn.
Look, I won’t pretend to have been even-handed in my descriptions of Donald Trump when I talk to my kids. I don’t have a high opinion of him. I don’t think the presidency is a job for governmental n00bs with no prior indication that public service even appeals to them. I don’t think the skill set for hosting a combative TV show is the same as what's needed for dealing with international diplomacy. And frankly, Trump strikes me as being an asshole.
My dislike isn’t hidden.
Never before have I felt such abject fear and loathing toward a presidential candidate. I have never looked at a candidate for President and thought, “I am not safe in his presence. My mother and sister are not safe in his presence. My children are not safe in his presence.”
But I will claim at least an attempt to go high when it comes to talking about him to my kids. In fact, I stopped short one afternoon when my son and a friend started riffing on Trump and the jokes got a little too rough. I looked at these two kids and reminded them that Donald Trump has a son about their age. How would they feel if kids talked about their dads the way they were talking about Trump? They were chastened and the jokes stopped. I felt like I was doing a good job of keeping everyone’s humanity at the forefront of the discussion.
But you know what? I don’t have the first fucking idea what to say now that I’ve heard tape of a presidential candidate bragging that because he’s a star, he can grab women by their pussies.
The night that tape was released the only thing I could think to do was stage an emergency refresher session about who gets to touch whose genitals and what to do if there’s unauthorized touching. Let me assure you that politics has never inspired me to talk about rape culture quite like this.
Now it’s days later and I’m at a loss for what more to say to my kids about this election. I’ve been aware of presidential politics since the Reagan years. My first election was 1992. Never before have I felt such abject fear and loathing toward a presidential candidate. I have never looked at a candidate for President and thought, “I am not safe in his presence. My mother and sister are not safe in his presence. My children are not safe in his presence.”
How do I explain that to my kids?
It’s not just me struggling with this. I’ve heard of schools cancelling class projects related to the campaign because the subject matter has become inappropriate for kids. That’s unprecedented. I’ve certainly deemed certain policy subjects too complicated for little brains, but I’ve never felt the need to turn off the TV because the candidates themselves were R-rated.
I would like to be able to sum this up with a meta lesson we can all pass on to our kids about how being a good person every day is the path to a brighter future. But at this point, I think the ones who need some lesson-ing are us, the adults.
We need to rethink government and politics, and perhaps the best way to do it is to visualize it the way we would explain it to our kids.
I would tell my children — and I would tell adults — that the president’s job is to promote the common good. The president makes sure Americans have the things they need to be happy, healthy, and safe. The president needs to be a person who cares so much about the country that he or she wants to help make it the best place it can be.
I think the only thing I can do now is sit down with my children and read the Preamble of the Constitution. Then we can talk together about whether or not the candidates can live up to those ideals. Because that’s what matters the most.
![Photo By Dr. François S. Clemmons [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], from Wikimedia Commons](/sites/default/files/styles/profile/public/images/article/2019-06/Mr.%2520Rogers%2520%25281%2529.png?itok=LLdrwTAP)
