Democrats indoctrinate their kids, too!

The header on the page says "Why Mommy Is a Democrat: A different kind of book." Truer words were never spoken, except for the time when South Park completely nailed why Family Guy isn't funny.

I don't know how long this book has been on the market, but for those who didn't know, there is a children's book out there called "Why Mommy Is a Democrat." It's good to see that Republicans aren't the only ones who believe in indoctrinating their kids.

I haven't read the book, because I've never been one to seek out propaganda, but from the title I can tell that by the end of this 28 page summation of the Democratic Party's agenda, I'd be pissed off. First of all, if you can boil your entire manifesto down into a children's book, chances are you're not very deep. Second of all, why are you trying to influence the political futures of children?

There are sample pages posted on the website, littledemocrats.net, that say things like "Democrats make sure we all share our toys, like Mommy does." No word on if there's a page that says, "Democrats allow random strangers into our homes that eat our food and sleep in our beds for free, like Mommy does," or "Democrats let people walk all over them because they are spineless opportunists who can't accomplish anything, even when they are the majority in Congress, like Mommy does."

Maybe it's just the way I think, but I think it's disgusting to try to influence your child's political beliefs before they even start growing pubic hair. When I was that age, my major concern was "How many bowls of cereal am I going to inhale during cartoons on Saturday?" Maybe even, "I hope I can get past level 7-4 on Super Mario Bros." Whatever it was, it certainly wasn't, "I wish Congress would pass a non-binding resolution against President Reagan to prevent him from further splintering the country."

I remember when Ronald Reagan left office in 1988, and i remember telling my dad that Ronald Reagan was my favorite President and that I would miss him. My dad didn't say anything, not because he thought his son was a babbling fool, but because he understood that I was 10 years old and I had no idea what I was talking about. I liked Ronald Reagan, not because I knew of anything he had actually said or done, but because he had been President for my entire conscious life to that point, and I didn't know any different.

People always remark how children are pure souls and the truth always comes out of a child, but the reality is children aren't really equipped to debate the finer points of politics. They don't have any critical reasoning skills yet. They barely even know the President, let alone things like political parties, the Senate, the House of Representatives, or God help us, filibustering. Even if the information spoke to a child, they'd still find it boring because Spongebob doesn't talk to it and it can't fly.

A child only knows what you tell them, and if you spend your days telling them that Aquaman comes over every day while they're at school, then that's what they're going to believe. It doesn't matter if it's true or right, because to them it is now the truth and depending on one's relationship with the child, they'll make that fact an integral part of their beliefs, even if they don't know any facts to support that stance. No child is going to fire back with "Mother, I think I relate more with the Republican Party's stance on small government and libertarianism."

So, Jeremy Zilber, you are simply wrong for writing this book. You are no different than fundamentalist Muslims who teach their kids that killing Jews is what Allah wants or the loons from that movie "Jesus Camp," who have kids praying that Samuel Alito would be sworn in as a Supreme Court Justice so he could overturn Roe vs. Wade.

Would it really be so wrong to allow your kids to form their own opinions about things in their own time? Are you so insecure in your own beliefs that you have to force your kids to believe the same as you? Anyone who has ever seen a kid will tell you that they're going to form their own ideas at some point and if you can't handle that, maybe you shouldn't be having kids. If you're the kind of parent who believes in completely forging their child's world view before they have the chance to form it themselves, maybe you should take a hard look at the kind of person you REALLY are.