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When Presidents Talk to Kids

September 7, 2009 by Julia King 

As a young teenager living in the Washington, D.C. area, I attended Ronald Reagan’s inauguration. I did this despite the fact that on election night when Reagan won, I had literally thrown myself to the floor in despair (I’ve always been a little too dramatic).

That year, my liberal parents took their liberal kids out of their “liberal” public classrooms… in order to pay homage to the democratic process that gave them a conservative president.  We didn’t carry protest signs or wear anti-Reagan buttons; my family was just part of the crowd, indistinguishable from the throngs of thrilled Republicans.

I don’t remember a thing Reagan said on that January day in 1981, but I do remember that my parents told me to be respectful. I was warned not to scowl or roll my eyes because, regardless of my feelings, Reagan was the president.

Of course, listening to Reagan didn’t mean abandoning my parents’ (or my) liberal principles; it meant learning the lesson of civic engagement. I was always encouraged to question authority (including my parents’), to analyze the relationship between a speaker’s words and his or her actions, to make up my own mind – but to back up my conclusions with evidence. Reagan’s inaugural speech was no exception.

My own daughter now a teenager, I’m raising her much the same way my parents raised me – with instructions to listen to everything, but to be cautious about what she believes. Needless to say, I’m having some difficulty understanding all these parents who are so worried about President Obama’s address to the nation’s school children.

But maybe it’s just easier parenting as a liberal. As liberals, it’s not our job to control our children’s minds; it’s only our job to supply them with the tools they need to make up their own minds. If I believed it was my duty to keep my daughter from hearing all the wrong-headed ideas spouted by all the wrong-headed politicians out there, it would be a whole different game. I’d be frantic, too.

Of course, I can’t pretend that knee-jerk opposition comes only from the political Right.  According to this New York Times article, when the first President George Bush made a similar televised speech to schools in 1991, Democrats complained. (Don’t any of these guys ever learn?)

Liberal or Conservative, if we’re smart we’ll raise our children with some measure of respect for (and knowledge of) the democratic process. That doesn’t mean agreeing with the president (in fact, school children viewing president Obama’s speech should be encouraged to critique his comments).  Parents should help children determine if the president’s actions correspond with the president’s words (far too many presidents give good speeches that don’t match their actions).

It’s okay to dislike the President (Lord knows I’ve spent a lot of years disliking the President); but it’s not okay to dismiss the President.  For good or for ill, the President of the United States of America has far too much power to disregard.

So, conservative Kids – if you see President Obama and he fills you with despair (or propaganda), go ahead and throw yourself to the ground. But then pick yourself up and get back in the game.  That’s what democracy is all about.

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