Skylorde wrote:In my opinion, the right & left are guilty of indoctrination of youth to some extent. The left has been particularly visible this election with things like the YouTube video of kids singing praises to Obama.....creepily Hitleresque.
Our kids are influenced politically by their parents simply by the mere fact they spend a great deal of time around us. I've tried very hard to let my 16 year old form his own opinions, in spite of the fact he's always asking me what mine are.
I think he gets it though. The other day he said "Societies and Governments ultimately implode under their own weight anyway, why stress about what you can't control?"
I think he gets it now.
I agree with your assessment on both sides being guilty of involving young children. Someone posted a youtube clip somewhere in this thread of children singing the praises of Obama, and I attacked that just the same way (and these were children far younger than 16).
I applaud your approach as a dad with your 16 year old. You're absolutely correct that children can't help but be influenced by how we feel. That said, I think most of them form their own opinions (that aren't necessarily consistent with our own) by the time they become adults. I can tell you that my political and religious views don't match those of most of my family's views.
At the end of the day, this entire American poltical system is REALLY fucked up. Obama shouldn't be allowed to outspend McCain to the tune of 3 to 1 or whatever it is. Also, I personally would have liked to see a McCain 30 minute infomercial, but he couldn't afford the airtime. It's simply not the way things should be done. The American political system is in DIRE need of reform!
John from Boston
