I have a tweenage daughter. Like a lot of 12-year-old girls, my kid is mostly focused on day-to-day issues of homework, friends, sports and nail polish. Unlike most 12-year-old-girls, she's getting political.
A bit a background--she's the kid that had the batsh*t insane "science" teacher that I vented about last year. (That issue is at something of a stalemate--the teacher isn't allowed to discuss her pet conspiracy theories but she also isn't teaching that burning fossil fuels is harmful for the environment.)
Anyway, follow me after the orange nail art to hear how my tween is figuring out the world without my help.
My husband and I have both worked for legislators. We let the kids stay up late to watch the debates. We donate time and money to campaigns. Politics is a frequent topic of discussion at home. We are old-school Catholic Democrats. (Hard to believe this now but it used to be that "Catholic" = "votes for Democrats.") My husband rails openly against the Church's political involvement with the GOP. We looooooove us some Joe Biden, ya know? He's our kind of Catholic.
So it is certainly does not come as a shock that our daughter is politically aware. But when my daughter started talking last night about how much money the GOP was spending on deceptive advertising and voter caging and whether Sandy would change any GOP minds on global warming, I shared a look with my husband that said, "can you believe this kid?" I asked her if this was something they were talking about at school. She tells me, "no, there's a youtube channel called 'The Young Turks' and it's awesome."
Yes. Yes, it is awesome. And she is telling her friends--all of whom are able to access youtube from their iPods or smartphones--how awesome it is.
So for those of you who worry about the future of America, take heart. My daughter will be old enough to vote in 6 years.