Chad's post below on politically indoctrinating one's children left me with a strong enough opinion to offer a full post, instead of my preferred habit of tacking onto his original.
I get upset when I hear people like Scott complain that:
Exposure to just how shamelessly our school system seeks to indoctrinate our
kids in liberalism
As parents, we are tasked with giving our kids what they need to become productive citizens. Allowing them to be indoctrinated in beliefs antithetical to our values system is not an option. Chad is actually a great model of responsibility in this manner. Rather than expose his children to a public school system at odds with his family's values, he and his wife have chosen a different path, that of home schooling. Others choose private schools. These are difficult choices, requiring plenty of investment in time, money, or both. Yet if our children are really our most precious legacy, how can we refuse to pass anything to them other than our most precious values? I know this will not be a popular statement, but it is not good parenting to send your children through a liberal public school system.
In answering the question of political indoctrination, I'll break precedent and tell a personal story about one of my children. A few years ago, I asked my youngster what things the President of the United States should do.
"Give everyone free toys," was the response of the pre-schooler.
I realized that this answer would fit squarely with the platform of the Democratic party. Rather than admonish the child, I tried a though experiment. I asked, "how would that work if you owned the toy store? Would the government just take all of your toys and give them to kids? How would that make you feel?"
After a short discussion, it was agreed that it isn't fair for the government to take stuff away from one person and give it to another. That's when I realized the average Democratic put about as much thought into the consequences of their votes as a five year old.
