A few days ago, my eight year old daughter asked me if she was a democrat or a republican. I am pretty sure she asked this because she can't remember whether Barack Obama or John McCain was who I was voting for, and she sure did not really understand why. So rather than just respond with my knee jerk reaction of you are a democrat, I told her I would ask her several questions to help her make that decision. Of course these questions would not make unbiased poll questions, but they made the point.
If daddy does a job for a certain amount of money, do you think that if mommy does the same job, she should be paid less, or the same?
The look on her face told me she not only understood the question but was upset that it would even be asked. "Of course mommy should be paid the same."
My next question had to do with taxes and the role of government
The government is responsible for a lot of things. They pay for the roads being built, the police, and fire departments, schools and lots of other things. The way all this gets paid for is from something called taxes. I get paid a certain amount. I pay the government a part of my paycheck and they use it to pay for the things they do, like roads, police, and schools. Do you think that rich people should pay a larger part of thier paycheck, the same, or less than poorer people?
Again, the look on her face told my she was thinking I was daft. "Rich people should pay more" with the unspoken "duh" at the end.
My last question was about war. I had to think hard about this, but I decided to keep it simple rather than more complicated.
Do you think war is good or bad?
in the mind of this eight year old, war is bad.
My last question was again simplistic, but I think she is getting a well formed idea of what it is about.
Do you think that government should help poor people go to a doctor or the hospital when they can't afford it?
Of course the government should help.
There are more questions I wanted to ask, but just aren't appropriate for little kids.
Do you want to make criminals of doctors who perform abortions and mothers who need them, or do you think there are better ways to reduce abortion?
Do you think that anyone two people should be allowed to get married, or should it only be for people of opposite gender?
Do you think that oil should be the primary choice for energy, or should wind, solar, geothermal and other energy sources be used and developed, and energy conservation should be encouraged?
Do you think that the environment needs to be protected and biodiversity enhanced and protected?
There are many more questions, but I will stop here.
Do you think religion should be taught in public schools?