Last Wednesday morning (11/03/2010), as the results of the mid-term elections were announced on the car radio, I noticed that my 10 year old son was watching for my reaction. Apparently my lack of response stirred his curiosity and we had a conversation that went something like this:
“Dad, are we Republicans or Democrats?” he asked.
“Neither,” I replied.
“Don’t you have to be one or the other?” he continued.
“No, you don’t have to be a member of a political party if you don’t want to be,” I said.
“Don’t you like any of them?” he said.
“I don’t like any of them enough to join them or to vote for their candidate’s every time. None of them really represent what I believe in, so it’s better for me to look at every candidate and to decide which is the one I want to vote for,” I explained.
“What’s the difference between the Republicans and the Democrats?” he asked.
I had to smile at that question, as I answered, “It’s not always clear son. Generally, Republicans feel like less government means more freedom, so they tend to want to limit how involved the government gets in the lives of the people; while Democrats tend to be more concerned about social issues and feel as though the government has a duty to get involved in the lives of the people. As you can imagine, these differing ideas cause them to disagree a lot.”
“Which idea do you think is right?” he asked.
“Actually, I see value in both ideas. Like the Republicans, I generally feel that less government is better; but like the Democrats, I feel like the government should provide some help for people who really need it. It’s just a question of balancing those two ideas. If we make the government too small, there may be people who won’t get the help that they genuinely need; and if we make it too big, it could start to interfere with our freedom and become difficult to pay for,” I replied.
With a puzzled look on his face, he asked, “Doesn’t the government just print up the money it needs?”
I chuckled, as I said, “Well they do print the money, but the truth is that the people pay the bills for the government; if we want them to do more, than we have to be willing to pay more for it. If you hear a candidate promise to do more, without the cost going up, you’ll know that they’re not being honest about it.”
“So since the Republicans won last night, do you think the government is going to get smaller now?” he continued.
“Unfortunately, that’s probably not how it’s going to work; because neither side is willing to work with the other. It’s like when the kids in the neighborhood get together for a football game; both sides want to win so badly that the minute one team starts to get ahead, the other one takes their ball and goes home. For that last couple of years the Democrats had enough people in office that they didn’t even need the Republicans to play; but now that it’s closer to even, I expect that they’ll spend a lot of time fighting with each other and trying to convince the people that the other side is the reason for their lack of progress. The truth is that their lack of progress is really caused by their unwillingness to work together to address the problems.”
“All the guys on TV said that they were going to make jobs for everyone; won’t that make things better?” he asked.
“It would help, if they actually had the ability to keep that promise. The problem is that they can’t. The government doesn’t make jobs, business and industry do that. Though they can spend some of the people’s money to give a few people some temporary jobs, they can’t create the kind of job it takes to raise a family on,” I said grimly.
“Why do they promise things that they know they can’t deliver?” he asked angrily.
“Sadly, because they know that people are really hurting for jobs and that it’s what they want to hear,” I replied.
“But haven’t the people figured out that they’re lying?” he said.
“I guess not; it seems like a lot of people are still expecting someone in the government to deliver the jobs they promised. You see, the government was meant to serve the people in certain limited ways, but it was never meant to take care of the people. Now that things are getting hard, a lot of people seem to want the government to take care of them and it wasn’t built to do that. It would be like me hiring a maid and paying her to serve me. The more I pay her, the more she’s willing to do. But if I lost my job and I can’t pay her anymore, should I expect that she’s now going to take care of me for free until things get better?” I said.
Shaking his head, he said, “No way, if you don’t have any money, she probably won’t do anything for you.”
“That’s right, she’s my servant, not my mother; but there are a lot of people in America who seem to think that our servant (i.e. the government) ought to take care of them like a mother. At this point, “We the People” can either decide to rise to our new challenges, like we have many times before in our history or we can keep crying out for more government help, which will eventually result in a government that we serve. The reason America has done so well, for so long, is because its people have been willing to rise to new challenges and we’re once again in one of those times. It’s up to the people, not the government, to do things differently,” I replied.
“So is this why you don’t seem very excited about this election?” he asked.
I smiled, as I replied, “That’s right son, my hope isn’t that the government is going to save me or our family. If it was, I’d be miserable. Our hope needs to be invested in better promises than the ones you’ve heard on TV.”
“So, should I even bother to vote when I get older?” he asked.
“Absolutely, you have been blessed to grow up in a country where the people have a voice in their government and as a citizen; you have a responsibility to participate in that process. I don’t want you to think that it doesn’t matter, because even if the government is just a servant, it affects your life and the lives of people you care about. You definitely need to take your rights as a citizen seriously, but don’t lose sight of the fact that the government can’t deliver peace and prosperity to your life. Those things will depend on the choices that you make.”
At that moment, we drove up in front of the school and the conversation ended.
Bjcorbin's Blog 
wow man . . . beautiful . . . I would like to re-post on my blog . . can I? I don;t even know how to do that really . . cut and paste?
Absolutely – cut and paste as you wish.
Bryan if more parents took the time to INFORM their children of the TRUE process that is called thus-far America, our future will look and ACT much different. The truth is far from the scene you described though. Many parents are “informing” their children of a much different nature~one of laziness, “we deserve a break”, and apathy. It doesn’t surprise me of your decision to take the “higher” road in this instance. Beyond that the most amazing thing is that your 10-year old not only was interested in your actions and your answers, but that he could grasp the adult manner in which you communicated the facts to him. THAT is a true test to the effect that you and Anita have had on your children. Congratulations on successfully raising a future generation that is not only informed but can effectually communicate their thoughts and feelings as well.
Thanks Sheryl – they’re amazing kids and I feel very blessed to be their father.
Very well said. A balanced, unemotional perspective. You don’t find many of those, these days. I found my trip to vote extremely frustrating. So little about the candidates merits, and so much about their opponents negatives. Makes for a confusing and incomplete glimpse into who I’m giving my “vote’.
This is so true in so many ways, I guess that even as a relatively young voter I have become so disenchanted with the process that I have begun not to vote during non-Presidentail elections. Especially as a social studies teacher and a person who is very much interested in the process however, I should. It really is too bad that politics are so partisan and negative rather than focusing on the positive things that we can achieve for our country.
Just a thought on things, but I would appreciate possibly a follow up post on your thoughts as to why you think our culture has developed in such a negative fashion surrounding politics and negativity in general. The easy answer is certainly that we live in a very fallen world where the devils lies prevail more often than not, but I would be interested on your take.
I can certainly understand your frustration – it’s difficult to watch the circus that American politics has become. It was actually a pretty good system at its conception, but people have found ways to extort the value of it. I do believe that the short answer for the source negativity in our culture is a loss of hope. As a society we have largely traded what’s valuable (e.g. finding a soulmate, genuine friendships, knowing a personal God) for things that are superficial and conveinient (e.g. hooking up, social networking, spirituality). The problem with those things is that they can’t bring peace or breed hope. Until our lives become about something bigger than ourselves, we’re destined to be miserable.
I love you John; I admire the man you’ve become. Keep pouring yourself into that beautiful family and the precious children God places in your classroom. Hold on to the hope; it’s priceless.
Also, thanks for all that you, your father, brother, and so many of our other family members have done to secure the liberty that me and my family have today. Your sacrifices and hard work are very much appreciated!
Thanks John – it is an honor to be counted among those brave men and women.