We live in a politically-charged world. In our current climate, every decision we make is politicized: what car we drive, what television station we watch, and what book we read. In my lifetime, I cannot recall a more divided nation. As we approach the week ahead, election week, I believe that it is important to connect with one major responsibility we owe our children: Developing independent thinkers.
We have read about the anxiety that riddles our children, whether it originates from social media; from rampant targeted violence; from the challenges to achieve success, as we define it; from our own overprotection; or from another source. The effect of these anxieties and perhaps of the world in which we live is often unveiled in our children’s lack of confidence.
Teenagers learning to find their way are understandably and expectedly lost at times, but I do worry that our children do not always have the confidence to derive or to express their own opinions: What extracurricular club should I join, what should I discuss in my creative essay, or for what classes should I register? Many of our children are paralyzed by these more mundane questions. How will they, one day soon, independently handle the more monumental decisions?
As much as we are surrounded by political thought, I witness very little political discussion. Your children’s teachers and schools are not deeply engaging in political issues, at least from my observations, and your family is likely cautious to raise political issues at parties or even among friends, particularly those friends whose political opinions may differ from your own. After all, we were instructed at a young age to avoid the discussion of religion and politics. The result, though, is further divisiveness, and the one thing I believe most of us can agree upon is that the divisiveness is not healthy, for us or for our children. We need to strive to reach common ground and to create a world of compromise that embraces our many voices.
As the election looms, now is a wonderful time to engage your children in a discussion about the candidates running for election and about local and state government. Encourage questions from your children. Cultivate their curiosity. With the internet at your fingertips, research together the answers to their questions. In short, develop their independent thought, even if it strays, slightly or dramatically, from your own. This week is a pivotal week, a week of discussion and opportunity to instill confidence in our children, to consider other perspectives as openly as possible, and to model for our children that we take pride in our democracy and will take time to vote thoughtfully.