Should babies wear political propaganda? Babble.com
Why I won't dress my kid in an Obama onesie
More than twenty-five years later, we’re in the midst of another election year. The “pigs” are out in full force and, as a grown-up, I’m well-versed in who they are. I should be. Since birth, I’ve been deeply indoctrinated by my liberal family.
I remember trying to catch red, white and blue confetti on my tongue during a Walter Mondale rally. I remember carrying signs for Dukakis around my neighborhood and making calls to pro-choice voters on his behalf when I was eight. If my father or mother believed in God, She was in the ACLU.
I loved carrying signs, shouting my beliefs and debating my third-grade classmates. So why did I flinch the other day when someone offered my one-year-old a “My Mama Loves Obama” onesie? After all, her mama does, indeed, love Obama. But the thought of seeing my politics on my toddler’s chest gave me pause. I may shout Obama’s name from on high, but should it be one of my child’s first words?
Babies have been making the rounds this campaign, as always: wearing slogans, holding signs and being kissed by candidates. One writer for Slate managed to get his infant daughter photographed with each of the candidates at the New Hampshire primary. And it’s easy to see why: babies make politicians look good. What’s more endearing than a teary-eyed politician embracing a sweet little infant, his man-paw made more tender and gentle by its proximity to a feathery-soft baby? The theory: “If candidate X loves that baby so much, he must love mine, too.”
David Shuster’s recent comments regarding the Clintons’ “pimping” of Chelsea Clinton may have made poor use of the term, but that is exactly what I fear I would be doing should my daughter receive a kiss from a candidate. Still, I am not immune to a precious photo. I never really mind seeing a baby who supports my candidate or my causes. But nothing makes me sicker than a small child espousing, say, homophobic rants. When I see a child stumping for a cause I abhor, my first thought is one of pity. That poor child must be so brainwashed. So, as a child who once protested, held signs and chanted “George, stay out of my Bush” in Washington, I have to wonder if the brainwashing goes both ways.
About the Author
Sasha Brown-Worsham
Sasha Brown-Worsham's writing has been published in Runner's World, Parents, Parenting and many more publications. She also writes a marathon blog for Fit Pregnancy. She lives and works in Boston, Mass., where she also tries to keep her pre-schooler from killing her infant.
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I found this bit fascinating:”I want a daughter who is a critical thinker. Of course, I also want a daughter who is a Democrat. I’ve been a believer long enough to know that I would struggle should my child become a Republican. I’m in favor of debate and dinner table conversation with spark, but I am not in favor of a child who supports the war in Iraq or thinks Bush is doing a great job.”I would imagine that the author is of the opinion that a Republican who would struggle with her child’s coming out as gay would really denigrate and look down on that Republican. But isn’t this statement above exactly the same? I want my kid to be a critical thinker, but only if it doesn’t actually conflict with my beliefs.I think you have to choose- either you want your child to think critically, and let the chips fall where they may regarding whether conservatism or liberalism has more resonance with her (though I think those terms have lost a lot of meaning as they relate to American politics), or you want to indoctrinate your child. Of course, teaching your child to be a critical thinker doesn’t mean you can’t voice the opinions you think are correct. But letting your child make up their own mind means being able to accept that they may come to different conclusions than you. Note that this doesn’t have anything to do with my personal politics, though I think it is kind of telling about the state of political discourse that I feel the need to qualify this with that kind of disclaimer.
My eldest was a first grader in Nov 2004. He cried when Kerry lost. I asked him why? (Though I was on the brink myself.) He said, “because you and Daddy put up a sign for him and I wanted us to win!” Six-year-old logic. Over the past three and a half (almost) years since that day, I’ve tried very, very hard to cultivate an open forum of a household for that child and his younger siblings. I told him at the time that yes, daddy and I were disappointed and even sad and a little mad that Kerry lost, but that when he got a little older and could read and understand more, I wanted him to decide for himself. Here we are – early 2008. My now nine-year-old son has been reading the papers, a little Newsweek and Time, and seen snippets of debates. He has asked who I prefer (Obama) and who dad prefers (on the fence between BO and HRC) and has taken that into consideration. He recently told me he supports Obama because of his anti-war stance. I asked if he took a look at McCain and he said “not really” because he is a Republican. I said there are quite a few very smart, competent Republicans. My son said, “Well, it’s hard for me because the most famous Republican for me is George Bush and I think he’s really bad.” Fair enough. Anyway, I’ll admit it has taken effort to bite my tongue and let my children form their own opinions. I suppose it helped that I grew up in a bipartisan home and was privy to lively debates all of the time. I don’t like the baby tee shirts campaigning – cute (esp. mama for obama given the cool rhyming), but I just don’t like assigning messages to innocents.
BBBGMOM, you sound so reasonable! And I love the way you seem to be guiding your son- giving him the options and letting him make up his own informed decisions. I guess this whole debate really gives me hives because I was raised in a distinctly partisan house, and only changed my opinions from those of my parents after careful consideration as an adult. I still can’t discuss politics with my dad. It has made me think less of my parents, that they were not interested (and remain uninterested) in my ideas that I formed independently. I can’t even imagine how I would feel if I knew that they were disappointed in me because of my politics (we have never discussed it in that kind of detail).
I was a yellow-dog Democrat until 9-11, but became a moderate Republican after that (in a process that took a couple of years to finalize). Through this political evolution of my own, I have learned that reasonable, intelligent people can hold reasonable but differing opinions. I applaud trying to produce young people who are critical thinkers. I hope to achieve that with my own two boys.
My best friend, Lisa, is a devout Democrat. I’m a middle of the road Republican who votes for the canditate not the party. Over the years we have learned to not discuss politics because her political views are so strong she doesn’t have an open mind to look at the other-side or think that just because you are a Democrat or a Republican that you have the tools and answers to fix the various ills that ail our beautiful country. A country that allows all of us to actually print our views without risk of imprisionment (a right many humans do not have).Your article brought me back to the early years in my friendship with Lisa when her political beliefs were very new and very strong. I learned from her and was reminded by your article that just because I call myself a Republican doesn’t mean that I support the war in Iraq or think Bush is doing a great job. It also doesn’t mean that I’m anti-abortion or anti-gay(in fact, if a canditate as to profess his or her anti-abortion/anti-gay stance, I will vote Democrat every time). It would be similar to me labeling a Democrat a liberal who thinks women should be paid (welfare) to have more and more kids without ever having to consider the consequences to the children…heck, lets just have every woman stay home, have six kids and never work. Why should she have to pay taxes and help support all the other women who keep breeding and stay on welfare forever?