Politics...here I go again...

I don't like election years. Sigh...I don't like politics. I care about the world and all of that. I have my own personal beliefs about politics, I just don't care to spend time discussing it much. The girls have been barraged by political nonsense at school, of course. Here are just a few highlights...if you care. Don't blame you if you don't! * Nat had to write a paper on the differences between demos and repubs. At the end of the paper, she HAD to declare her commitment to one or the other. What?? That's crazy. I told her she didn't HAVE to be anything. Apparently, the assignment required she did. I said, find out what the teacher is and be the opposite. That's just ridiculous....politics...right up there with enemas in my opinion. (not that I'd know anything about those, mind you) *Serena came home and told me all kinds of things about our current president, as told to her by an obviously brainwashed child of overly political parents who clearly watch one biased station on TV. No, to my knowledge, Obama is not trying to turn our children into slaves to get back at us. What are these parents thinking??? *If you're a Christian, apparently you HAVE to be republican. That's funny. I'm a Christian and I'm NOT a republican. (I just heard your appalled "WHAT??") That's right. Christians can be a little something called "AMERICANS". That's what I am. And I don't have to cater to a party to be that! So, what we're trying to show our kids is that you do HAVE to think for yourself. I encourage them to not discuss politics UNLESS they understand what they are saying. It is irresponsible to run your mouth because of what someone on TV is saying. What your parents are saying in the kitchen...what your church or place of business tells you you have to think. What a party tells you to do. This is America, and we have the right to think for ourselves. Intelligently, thoughtfully, mindfully, and with a love for our country as our main objective. I love this country, but I don't have to be a republican, a democrat, or a whateverist to prove it. And I certainly don't expect my kids to run around being my little mouthpieces, regurgitating my thoughts and opinions. When they are old enough to approach politics with maturity, I can't wait to hear what THEY think. And I hope they are respectful in sharing with their classmates these ideas. I have been pretty annoyed with some of the crazy things the girls come home and tell me. Clearly these parents aren't being objective or educational in their teachings, and all that does is confuse kids. It also teaches them to be very narrow-minded. Not cool. When I was a kid, I loved Jimmy Carter. I wasn't a democrat (that I knew of), and I didn't know or care what my parents thought. I loved him because he had a cool voice and he loved peanuts. Ahh...to be an innocent child and love your president. That would be a nice refreshing change.