I don’t intend to discuss politics on this blog to any great degree, but the recent election seems like a good time to give a kid’s perspective on the subject.
During my life to this point there have been five Democrats and five Republicans in the White House. I can sort of tell the difference between the two parties. When I was a child, I knew the name of The Prez, but had no inkling of party affiliation or that political parties existed. I only knew that the President was someone that you looked up to, but did not necessarily revere.
I remember watching the Smothers Brothers television show which aired in the late 60’s. Even though I was much too young to fully understand the humor, I found the show appealing. The show was on when I was 6-8 years old. It was quite controversial for its skits which were very critical of the president and the Vietnam war. While people would argue whether or not it was appropriate to criticize a sitting president, no one could get thrown in jail for doing so and I learned early on that you could question authority, though I definitely was not much of a rebel due to my quiet nature. But, it was nice to know, if I chose, I could “fight the man”!
One of the series regulars was a comedian named Pat Paulsen who became quite famous for his humorous bids to become elected president of the United States. He ran for office many times over the years and actually appeared on several ballots and received some votes. He was simultaneously taking the air out of some of the over inflated egos of political leaders while reinforcing that anyone in America could throw his hat into the ring. In hindsight, though his comedic platform was mixed with legitimate issues, I have seen recent candidates with no attempt at humor seem infinitely more ridiculous than Mr. Paulsen ever did.
However, I digress. My main point was that regardless of which party was in power, my life as a kid did not change. As long as there were cartoons on Saturday morning and I could ride my bike after school, life was good. If my parents were disappointed in the government, they never let their kids know it. I’m sure there were some tough economic times that they perhaps felt were the cause of one particular administration or another, but we were not privy to that. I think that would be the better approach, but I’m sure there are a lot of youngsters that have had some low opinions of the last two presidents thrust upon them and have suffered some unnecessary angst that could have been put off at least until high school.
So, next time one of our leaders lets you down, go for a bike ride and watch some cartoons. For aren’t those two things which unite us all?