Kids and Elections

This election season was particularly interesting for me, but not because of the candidates and the rhetoric. Mason, our oldest, is a first grader. Elections at school are very interesting to first graders. We have tried to be careful when we have political converstations, so as not to discuss things in front of the kids that might make them feel uneasy. I want kids to stay kids as long as they can and not be worried about problems that adults can't seem to solve.

Anyway, I thought that Mason was pretty much oblivious to the whole process until one day when he announced at the breakfast table that he would be voting for Obama. I was curious about his reasoning and asked why we was choosing to vote for Barack. He looked puzzled and then said, he wasn't sure why but he was certain he was a Obama guy. I said good for you, but you might want to find out a little bit about Obama before you make up your mind. The next day as we sat at the table he asked me who I would be voting for. I told him I wasn't sure and that I was still deciding. I asked if he had found anything out about Obama and again he looked a bit puzzled. I asked him if he knew what Obama looked like. He said "isn't he the guy with white hair?" I said no, that was John McCain. Then I showed him a picture of Obama from the newspaper. He sighed and said "Good. I like brown people."

I love the minds of kids. Later in the month, he announced that he was no longer voting for Obama. A friend of his had told him to vote for McCain. I advised him that he should make up his own mind on who to vote for and that each person has to decide for themselves who to vote for. Within the week he was back in the Obama camp.

Fastforward to election night. I walk in the door and Mason start screaming at me "We are losing!" Losing, losing what. I am so confused. "McCain is losing" he sobs to me. Now I am really confused. I say, "Mason, you were voting for Obama. He is winning." He lets me know that once again he has flip-flopped. "So-and-so at school told me Obama is a liar. So I want McCain." is Mason's reply. So how do I deal with this one. My first instict is to tell him that all politicians are liars, but my better judgement prevails and I again state that we shouldn't make decisions based on others opinions. Decide for yourself who you feel the best candidate is and go with that.

At dinner, Mason was calm and announced that indeed he was voting for Obama and he was winning. When I asked why he changed his mind he said, "Obama likes basketball and so do I. Also, Barack rhymes with rock."

If you ask me these are probably some of the best reasons for selecting our president.