Well, you can tell it’s almost time for the 2012 election-palooza to take off. As this time draws near, I’m listening to all candidates. I know that in Oklahoma, this state will go to the republican candidate, so my vote for anything to the contrary will feel like it is useless. But I’m going to cast it anyway.
As someone who was raised in a conservative, Christian family, the change in my political views from what is common here has been quite drastic. I believe the largest part of that comes from my passion for children.
As a teacher, I see children who are innocent victims of their parent’s choices all the time. Am I a socialist? When it comes to minors, you bet.
For example, to those of you who believe that we should drug test everyone who receives government aid and if they fail, they lose all their money.
Ok – I understand the idea behind this BUT – think about the children of these people. It’s not the 8 year olds fault that mommy is on meth. They don’t deserve to suffer even lower living standards and more frequent hunger because their parent is addicted to drugs.
If you’re going to stop giving them aid, then you better remove the child from the home and put them in foster care – which is expensive, needs reform, and could definitely use more funding to its programs – and we all know how people feel about government spending.
The fact is, I believe that all children should be able to see a doctor when they are sick and receive the treatment they need to get better. I believe all children should be fed, clothed, and educated. I want all children to feel safe in their homes. I believe that children need to have their rights protected by adults since they cannot protect their own rights yet.
When I vote on any issue or for any candidate, my thought is generally “what does this mean for our children”. A vote for education cuts means that the lower income students will receive less additional help to close the education gap and meet their needs. A vote for offering health care at a reduced rate for children means healthier children who miss less school and become better students.
Do I believe that adults deserve to have some consequences for the choices they have made in their life? Yes. But I think if we took better care of our nation’s children, we’d have much less of a problem with adults who do not know how to take care of themselves or the children they didn’t take care to prevent having and now have no idea how to provide for.
I’m an absolute socialist when it comes to taking care of our society’s children.
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