Ask columnist Jason Williams any questions about sports or non-sports, and he’ll answer a selection of your questions on Cincinnati.com. Email:jwilliams@enquirer.com
Message: I would love to read your thoughts on the upcoming election. I wish I could do both jobs (sports and political columnist).
Response: The constitutional republic will survive no matter who wins. That’s my most important thought about the presidential election.
The most draining thing about this election cycle for me is the effect it has had on our children.
I started reporting on this issue after CNN asked 10-year-olds their thoughts on the presidential election in late September (must have been a slow news day). In this article, a child is quoted as saying: “A convicted felon against a liar. Who should I choose?”
This is a good question that many of us adults struggle with. But really? Why would a 10 year old say something like this?
Hey, boy! Good news: You don’t have to choose one or the other. You are not old enough to vote. Do something for the kids and let the adults worry about the election.
Then the problem hit my living room. One day, I came home from work to find my 8-year-old son reciting a Bernie Moreno ad word for word on TV. Then I asked my son if he could recite the Sherrod Brown ad as well, and he did. Every word, word for word.
A week later, while attending a cookout with family and friends, an elementary school child mentioned one of Moreno’s ads about social issues.
All of this really bothered me.
At least in Ohio, this is part of the fallout from the more than $440 million spent on the Brown-Moreno campaign, by far the largest amount ever spent on a Senate race in the state. This could be a national record for a non-presidential election. campaign. Such advertisements are everywhere.
Elementary school kids don’t need to know what’s being said in the Moreno and Brown commercial. Children don’t have to think about politics. Opinions are too divided. That’s too negative. It’s too good versus evil.
We hear a lot about the need to restore civility to politics. Well, a good way to continue to fuel division is to have children grow up thinking that one side is good and the other is evil. Elementary school children shouldn’t know the meaning of liberal or conversational, much less label those words as good or bad.
I refuse to talk to my kids about politics. (In fact, I don’t talk politics to anyone unless they bring it up.) My sons keep asking me about the election, and I keep telling them not to worry. Masu. The right time will probably come soon for my 11 year old.
Politicians need to be concerned about the impact this election cycle has had on children. Instead, Moreno appeared on Fox News last week and bragged about what his child allegedly said to him about race.
“I was at the school today and visited a kindergarten, first grade and second grade charter school that just opened here in Columbus,” Moreno told Fox’s Sean Hannity. “A 6-year-old boy raised his hand and said, ‘I know that guy.’ That’s Bernie Moreno, and I know that Sherrod Brown is too liberal for the state of Ohio. I think people in Ohio would understand if a 6-year-old got infected.”
Too bad for Moreno. Hey Bernie, we don’t need innocent children to tell us who to vote for or against. Moreno knows that, of course. But he thought he was making himself look cute by telling this story (even if that was true). gross.
Let’s protect young children from politics. Perhaps that should be part of the agenda for future campaigns.
This story has been updated to include video.
