Ready, Set, Go Vote

Does politics have a place in family life? Sure it does. The family has a voice and it isn't just Dad or Mom's voice. We all have a say in family matters. We have a family democracy. The children are taught from the time they are mimicking adult words that their voice needs to be heard and one voice does make a difference.

Super Tuesday is coming upon us fast and furious. The campaign trails are coming closer to home as the media blurts out the steady rise and fall of one candidate over another. It's going to be a tight race this year for those presidential guys. Our kids are hearing the words we say about these guys whether we like it or not and they are repeating these words to their friends and to their school teachers. Our children are forming their opinions from our opinions. They are learning line upon line, precept upon precept from us. We can't hide from it and we shouldn't hide from it.

Let the kids of this nation know what we think about politics; what we think of the campaigns and the people who want to represent us as a nation. Talk to your kids and give them your opinions so when they reach an age to decide for themselves they'll know how to chose and pick who they like and what they like.

Kids Voting is an excellent program to incorporate as a PTA parent into our schools and our communities. It helps teach the kids why we vote and what a vote does for us. One voice is heard and can be heard, they just need to get that voice out in the open.

I will cherish the days when as a child I listened to the heated discussions that filtered down the hall and up the stairs reaching the ears of my brother, sister and me as we sat perched next to the banister. We'd watch our living room fill with friend and foe as my parents held political rallies or campaign party meetings. The American flag fluttered in the breeze outside our front door to let everyone know this was the place to be to be heard; to get your voice out. This was democracy at its best.

My father held many town council positions and loved to involve us children in the town politics. He wanted us to be informed of what was going on around us. He gained his love for democracy through his own father in the same manner he was teaching us. I will never forget my dad's enveloping hug as I stepped through the door after casting my first ballet at the ripe age of eighteen. I had made my choice and made my voice heard.

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