How to Talk to Your Kids About Bernie Sanders
Sometimes it can be scary and confusing for kids when they’re faced with an unknown, like a politician who actually represents the regular people who voted for him. As you tuck them into bed don’t be surprised if you hear questions like, “But what about the billionaires? Who’s going to speak for them?” or “Why is he so angry all the time?” or “Mom, why did you hit him?” We’ll get to that last one in a minute.
I find that the best way to address kids’ valid concerns about politicians is to ease them into it. The last time we tried to explain a government shutdown to my 10-year-old he said, “Wow, sounds like they don’t know how to do their jobs. They should all be fired.” There’s no telling what sort of blood lust this whole Bernie situation could unleash in our household and I’m betting your family is struggling with the same sense of unease. I’ve put together some answers to use when fielding common questions from your kids. You’ve probably been asking yourself some of these questions too, so don’t feel shy about talking to yourself about Bernie Sanders. We all do. It’s completely natural.
What does it mean when a politician “doesn’t lie”?
Well, this means that he or she is telling “the truth”. This is the type of behavior that one might expect from, say, your teacher or a librarian. I understand it can be confusing, trust me, it’s definitely confusing to most adults. What we’re used to is a sort of non-truth-jargon-bite and we nod and think “Thank you politician for the nonsense that just came out of your face hole” and we get right back to eating our burrito(s) because that’s life, man. I think you know by now that adults don’t really expect the truth otherwise why would we ask you if you’ve brushed your teeth and then accept your answer without making you breathe directly into our faces “just to be sure”? We’re used to being lied to. We like it. It’s soothing. So this situation is uncomfortable for us too. Just know this: you are not alone. We will get through Truthmageddon-Honestypocalypse-2016 together.
What is he so angry about?
If your kids have only seen Bernie during Senate Budget Committee hearings (and let’s face it, what kid hasn’t?), they might think he’s the angriest uncle in Angry Uncle Town. But we live in Vermont so we’ve seen Bernie all over the place, grocery shopping at our local market, walking down Church Street, or driving around town in his consistently-of-the-people car. He is our Jimmy Carter. He looks just like a regular guy doing regular guy things. In fact, not once have I ever seen him try to filibuster in ..................................................................
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https://medium.com/@honeystaysuper/how-to-talk-to-your-kids-about-bernie-sanders-db1263608fff
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