By Kathy Six
April 19, 2022
“The child supplies the power, but the parents have to do the steering.” – Benjamin Spock
Generally we've never considered a political party as being pro or anti parenting. Historically, political parties had little impact on the general workings within the family unit. When children went to school, the curriculum contained only that which would translate to basic societal needs and securing a job in the future. It was expected that children learned language, math, science and social studies. The basics were relatively the same throughout the nation, albeit some differences in geographical concepts and grade level science. What changed?
Duties Teachers Absorbed
One could argue that many parents began shirking their duties, leaving skills ordinarily handled at home, in the laps of teachers. Things like manners, telling time, how to listen and respect adults, and other home based skills left a gaping wound of proficiency in areas traditionally not provided at school. Teachers had little choice but to take on extra duties and until recently, most schools adopted these new teaching responsibilities knowing children would fail in academics if they weren't able to master skills needed to actually learn academics. That meant the line of government services and parenting were becoming blurred. As a teacher, I wish I could say I didn't have to adopt these practices myself, but unfortunately, I too joined the mass of teachers covering concepts previously reserved for the parent.
Politics and Parenting Colliding
If we had merely stopped there, we would not be having any discussions about politics and parenting. Aside from the obvious topic of abortion, politics were not a part of child rearing. This separation of parenting and government is not only closing in; we're now in the midst of a full on collision. Two parties and two belief systems regarding the amount of control a parent retains over raising their child has come to a head. Parents are now forced to choose who will govern the country and therefore, who will align with their belief system regarding their role as the parent.
Republican VS Democrat Parenting Values: Two Very Different Animals
Why has the GOP become the party of parents? Let's look at the doctrine each party champions. For the sake of comparison to both parties, we will start by saying that the beginning of parenthood starts at birth. Once children are born, the tenets of Liberals to Conservatives regarding child rearing splits, diverges and eventually decouples into two very different animals. Let's examine some primary differences in each party's doctrine that is directly related to parenting.
Vaccinations have always been an area of discussion among parents. Some feel strongly the CDC's recommendations of vaccinations are vital to keep a healthy society while others argue the risks of the vaccinations out weigh the benefits. Still, for the majority of the US, better than 90% of children are vaccinated. No matter your opinion, the choice was still left to the parent to at least some degree for public schools. Schools in many states provide waiver options if a parent chooses to not vaccinate and frankly, no one except the record keepers know which children are or are not vaccinated.
Liberals, though, have shown recently their desire to advocate FOR you whether your child should receive vaccinations, and abdicate your right to choose over what they declare is the common good. Some states have even told you what to put on your child's face, for the common good, of course. Be damned the loss of facial expression learning and hearing sounds and articulations properly for hearing development from other masked people. It is akin to walking into your home, pointing out which pain reliever the child should take and what shirt suits their need for the weather. This may sound like a ridiculous analogy but if they can tell you whether an experimental drug should be shot into your child's bloodstream, choosing which pain reliever that is best for your child seems mild in comparison.
Conservatives, on the other hand, advocate for choice. The republican party prefers the choice of vaccination for a child be left to the parent. Let me stress the word "choice". Can we blame those parents? The increasing number of recommended vaccinations by the CDC and the increasing numbers of disorders like autism has caused parents some pause.
Anti-Vaxxers or Simply Refusing An Experimental Injection?
Often parents are accused of being anit-vaxxers when they choose to reject the COVID-19 vaccination for their children when in fact, most have had their children fully vaccinated up until the Covid vaccine. The democrats have increasingly shown hostility to not only the adults who have declined vaccination, but to accuse parents who choose this for their children as neglect. There are more than enough reports of parents being screamed at, spit on, or called child killer for choosing to not vaccinate their child. Some states have gone so far as to suggest arresting parents who refuse the Covid-19 vaccine for their children.
A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
Another recent hot topic is Critical Race Theory. Some schools have adopted CRT right under the noses of parents who are completely unaware this curriculum was actively being taught to their child under the guise of diversity. Every school should have parent representatives on their curriculum committee and thankfully, my district does. Parents should know what curriculum is adopted and which topics will be included in their child's classroom. Democrats believe it is the government's duty to decide what is best for your child and that includes the classroom. After all, the government pays for it, right? Actually, no, you do, via taxes.
Are Kids Inherently Racist?
The liberal might argue that we are inherently racist and children have to be taught how to NOT be a racist. All one has to do to counter this argument is walk into a kindergarten class and watch a class of mixed race children play. They do not pair off according to race. They do not show fear, anxiety, or distrust of other children according to color. They naturally gravitate to other children with like interests. They will judge another child more accurately on how they are treated by that child. If a child is "mean", children move away. If they are "nice", they move toward that child. It's really quite amazing to watch this happen among these "little people". They have a lot to teach us about how to judge others. If you see anything other than children judging on character, an adult has taught them that.
As a fourth grade teacher, I see black and white children play together, help each other, and work as teammates with no regard for the color of the other child's skin. They too judge quite well on character, not skin color. Does that mean children are incapable of being racists? Absolutely not. They can be taught quite easily and very early how to hate based on skin color; by adults. Here is an interview of Christopher Rufo explaining the difference between teaching history and CRT.
"Diverse" Education for 1st Graders
Worse, the liberal mindset is to indoctrinate and expose children to "diverse" lifestyles that include sexual content at young ages. Two prime examples showing the lack of concern regarding exposure to CRT and sexual content under the guise of diversity and exposure to LGBT people are in these videos. The first is FCPS school board meeting. This news managed to make it to some smaller or more conservative news sources, however, all major news networks avoided the story in spite of its obvious newsworthy content. The second is a video containing the actual content being presented to first graders. Warning, the content is explicit.
Republicans Give Power to the Parents
The Republican party has taken a solid stance opposing CRT and teaching sex education to elementary students. Under no circumstances should the divisive content of CRT be included in a school's curriculum and especially sex education in elementary schools. When hashing out something as controversial as showing a video about pubescent growth to elementary children through the curriculum committee and further vetted by the parent's of the children slated to view it, Republicans put the power of sex education back into the hands of the people who are most responsible for their child's sexual behavior; the parents.
"Feeling" Like a Pronoun
Liberals and Conservatives or as it were, Democrats and Republicans, also differ greatly on the concept of pronoun manipulation. For example, a Democrat might argue a boy can call himself a "she," if he feels he is a she. DNA notwithstanding, they can simply "feel" like a she to call themselves a she. In addition, they believe this pronoun "choice" can start at any age. Republicans stand behind the supposition that pronouns are inherent with one's biological classification. They are not to be manipulated, but used based on the science of God's creation.
Most republicans will not beleaguer the point that adults may choose to dress as the opposite sex of their DNA and call themselves the corresponding pronoun. Though they often reference their ideology via Biblical truths, they generally are rather flexible with people who make such declarations as adults. Republicans are far more liberal in their ability to tolerate ideologies inharmonious to their own beliefs.
Digressing into the Classroom
Pardon me for a moment while I digress to the classroom. The other day I was teaching my students about the concept of first and third person. I read them various stories pointing out pronouns that were clues to which of the two approaches the author took. I reminded them that I, me, we, us, ours, and myself were hints they were reading first person. Pronouns such as he, she, they, them, their, his and her indicates third. Within this lesson, we had to understand our pronouns. "Which are plural?" I asked them. Interestingly enough, no one seemed confused which were plural. When we paid attention to which characters were the his or her, he or she, again, they were quite clear which characters belonged to which pronouns. As I read various books from different points of views, the students didn't have a natural inclination to ask if the female characters identified as girls or visa versa for boys.
Why aren't they confused? First, they are fully aware that boys are different from girls biologically even without the knowledge of DNA. They giggle at the idea of a child accidentally walking into the opposing sexes bathroom. They know the boys have urinals and the girls have only stalls. They understand the way our bodies are built and why we must have separate areas for each sex.
Is Gender Identity on the Minds of Five Year Old's?
Considering whether someone is straight, gay, transgender, etc. is not conceived in a child's cognitive development without prompting until puberty. It will only cross their radar if they have a parent or close family member in that category and it is discussed. Even then, their understanding is a simplification appropriate for their age which is far less than what is being proposed educationally for children in the classroom. When the students walk to the restroom beginning in kindergarten as a class, they don't stop to ponder if the restroom they're in is the proper one based on how they "identify".
Democrats will have you believe that children as young as five are able to consider whether they "feel" like a boy or girl. Imagine how confused I'd have been when I was in elementary if this suggestion was posed to my little tomboy mind because I never wanted to wear a dress. I wanted to climb on the jungle gym and play marbles with the boys. There's a Christmas picture of myself sitting on a toy tractor I'd begged Santa to bring that year. I hadn't pondered whether I was a girl or not. I simply liked the tractor. Even today, I love hunting and fishing and driving my own motorcycle. How confused I would be now if someone back then had suggested these ideas to me at five years old, especially an authoritative adult like a teacher.
Parents put safety as a high priority for their children
The way Democrats and Conservatives attack the issue couldn't be further apart. Conservative parents see the world as a primarily law abiding place, however, have a realistic view that there are "bad" people out there that need to be kept away from their children. This makes Republicans pro policy against child crime and strong sentencing of adults that engage in crimes against children.
Democrats have loudly and proudly claimed that police funding should be cut if not eliminated altogether. They have let out far more criminals on their watch than republicans. If we look at just murder rates, blue states suffer a much higher number than red states. In the article Democrat Blue States Have 46 Percent More Murders Than Republican Red States, the data bears this out. Parents want to send their children out to play in a safe environment because they choose safety over endangerment.
The Floodgates Have Opened
Let's take this safety issue to the next level. Biden has essentially opened the floodgates of the border to anyone and everyone. Human trafficking of children and women is so high, our border patrol cannot keep up with the demand to rescue the victims. Meanwhile, fentanyl surges and spreads like wildfire to every state in the US. We can no longer say Texas, Arizona, California, Nevada and New Mexico are border states. We are all border states.
Republicans want that border shut down to protect our families and those being abused by the cartel. While walls are built around the capitol and Biden's residence in Delaware, the floodgates of drugs and human trafficking surge our border with unfinished walls near piles of materials laying unused that could have finished the job. What do Republicans want? They want safety. They want your children and every adult to feel secure. Isn't that what parents want for their children and grandchildren?
Unions Advocate in the Political Arena
Lastly and to not be overlooked, the mandates that closed the schools. While Trump was encouraging states to reopen schools in light of data showing schools were extremely low risk, Democrat run states doubled down. We could blame it on the teacher's unions which seems a good avenue of attack, but consider the fact that each town, city and state makes decisions that do not hinge on the desires of the unions. When they do what the unions want in spite of how irrational it might be, they're pandering to one group's radical ideas.
Teachers unions' purpose is to balance administration and staff while advocating in the political arena for their profession to benefit teachers AND students. That doesn't mean they always represent both of those entities satisfactorily. Unions have been known to run amuck or lose their way. It is a politician's duty to know when this has happened and say no. The democrats have cowered to the unions over what was best for children. Much to the dismay of parents, some schools are still remote a full two years later when COVID is no longer a pandemic by any stretch of the imagination.
Party of the Parents
As we see parents rising up at school board meetings and joining republican groups in ever greater numbers, it is clear parents are beginning to realize which party is more in line with the values of the family. Families are the underpinning of society. Therefore, we must reclaim the institution of family values via the ballot box.
Kathy Six - Teacher with a Master’s Degree in Gifted and Talented Students. Community involved at her lifelong residence of Fruitport, Michigan. Married to her husband Scott for 40 years and has two married children and four grandchildren. Kathy loves to hunt, fish, playing softball, and reads everything and anything she can get her hands on.
