Kane's class had a mock election yesterday. Kane voted for McCain.
The rest of the day, the other kids taunted him and called him a racist. It was a pretty good preparation for adult political discourse, come to think of it. We had a little talk about it, and I gave him the same advice I give grownups--if you know you're not a racist, what do you care what "they" say? Being called a racist is a sure sign that you're winning an argument, anyway.
It's boggling how meanness and pettiness rub off on children. The sad part is the parents are oblivious to what they're doing and probably think they're doing a great job raising their kids "right".
ReplyDeleteI guess the secret ballot was one feature of elections that the mock version lacked.
ReplyDeletePity--it's kinda important.
We've had to explain to our kids, numerous times, that just because someone votes for the opposite candidate, it doens't make them a bad person. Being able to vote for different candidates is what makes our system of government so great, even if it does rub the nerves raw after a while....
ReplyDeleteIts far too easy to demonize the other party and those who support them.
Hey, that sounds like this: "a mode of thinking that people engage in when they are deeply involved in a cohesive in-group, when the members' strivings for unanimity override their motivation to realistically appraise alternative courses of action." The word groupthink was intended to be reminiscent of George Orwell's coinages (such as doublethink and duckspeak) from the fictional language Newspeak, which he portrayed in his ideological novel Nineteen Eighty-Four."
ReplyDeletehttp://wifil.net/forum/messages/38618.htm
One of the reasons we have an electoral college, I believe.
It's boggling how meanness and pettiness rub off on children.
ReplyDeleteOne could it's only natural at that age. The fact that it rubs off on the children, when it comes to an issue such as politics, really just means their parents haven't grown out of it as most adults do...or should, that is.
The tactic seems to be going around.
ReplyDeleteYeah, why wasn't it a secret ballot? That kind of brow-beating and name-calling just reinforces the whole 'me versus them' mindset that makes some folks hysterically disconnected. In my opinion, the teacher screwed up.
ReplyDeleteUnless the teacher wanted to stress the idea that you should never vote your mind, but rather go with the candidate that the masses gather around. Then the teacher succeeded spectacularly.
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