Wow, have things quickly changed. It used to be exciting for our kids to register to vote (though nowhere near the excitement of a driver’s license). But now it’s more about which stereotype you would prefer when joining a political party.
It is widely believed that children will imitate their parents’ behaviors and attitudes—whether parents want them to or not. For the most part children will interact with others in the precise manner that was modeled for them by adults.
Given this responsibility, many parents try to instruct their children and impart their views, perhaps hoping their kids become carbon copies of themselves, or become the people they wish they were themselves.
For some parents, this quest takes on a missionary zeal. They work to indoctrinate their children with a designated political viewpoint from an early age, raising them to be young ideologues.
Everything we teach our kids both in school and in home is to “prepare them for the real world.” We hope what they learn will assist them in navigating through a myriad of cultural choices and opinions.
We encourage them to participate in civil activities and demand that they register to vote. However, is there any way we can go back to a time when political parties just represented diverse and distasteful differences of opinions?
Because now it has become an incredulous and bizarre free for all – for all people, both parties.
Why can’t liberals and conservatives get along? Because they fundamentally misunderstand each other.
Students no longer get to expand horizons and participate in groups which may nurture a specific school of thought. Rather, they must pick a side. And with that comes the chance of being a party pariah if you maintain views from each side “of the aisle.” Is this what we teach them in civics or government classes?
We all know now that sharing an opinion puts us in a category and brands us. We are supposed to teach our kids to be students of understanding and thoughtful response. But if we act absurd ourselves, how can we expect them to be any different.
Sadly enough every position, opinion, thought is now politicized. We have been talking about this for years. There isn’t a tragedy in the morning that has not become a hot political issue for one of the parties by noon.
And from these sides come terms that are bounced back and forth like a ping-pong ball. Many people use terms like “prejudice” and “racism” interchangeably – but there are finer distinctions.
“Categorizing” is a normal process of grouping things according to common characteristics, but it becomes “stereotyping” when one adds cultural presumptions to a given category.
“Stereotyping” in turn becomes “prejudice” when one adds the belief that a categorized group’s presumed characteristics are superior to another’s.
“Prejudice” can develop into “racism” when it is combined with group social power and becomes systemic.
And last but not least, “Racism” is a belief that race is a primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial difference produces an inherent superiority of a particular race.
On both sides, discourse now moves swiftly from disagreement into demonizing, from contrast to caricature.
Our politicians and pundits happily supply us with the voodoo dolls and the pins. But we’d be smarter not to use them.
I’m not going to attempt to bring peace to the land right now but thought it might be worthwhile to sketch the top ways that liberals misunderstand well-meaning religious conservatives, and vice versa. (Spoiler Alert) You have heard this all before.
Liberals tend to view people who take the Bible very seriously as yokels opposed to science, knowledge and thinking. Liberals say that Trump voters are “morons” and “idiots.” The idea that red state voters chose Trump is because they’re ignorant or uneducated.
The Republican Party sent out brochures in West Virginia and Kentucky saying liberals wanted to ban the Bible. This same group said that Liberals were baby killers. American evangelical Christian author and psychologist called a liberal senator a “lover of criminals who take American jobs.
To our students: choose carefully and know you can change parties whenever you wish; you are allowed to do that. And don’t worry, as long as someone approves – sadly enough you will be be ok.
This column is by Ritchie Lucas, Founder of The Student Success Project and Think Factory Marketing. He can be reached at 305-788-4105 or via email at ritchie@thinkfactory.com and on Facebook and You Tube as The Student Success Project.
