Now that the 2012 Presidential Election is over, I was thinking about what would be important for a child to remember about the election. Sure, you could tell them that Barack Obama won the election over Mitt Romney or that the country is decidedly segregated when it comes to issue like race, gender, class and socio-economic standing but those things are obvious.
Rather than share things that everyone is already discussing, here are five things that you can tell your children that might be a little bit more interesting to them.
I. Second Place Sucks
Make sure that your children know that the 2012 Presidential Election process is a cut throat, take no prisoners activity which is unlike anything else that they will ever experience. There are no second place trophies. There is no request by a photographer to shoot a team photo of the runner-up.
There are no t-shirts passed out at the end of the election to remember how close they were to winning. Other parents probably will tell you that they don’t care about what little Johnny or Sally did during the campaign when you post pictures or some message on Facebook.
In the case of the 2012 Presidential Election, second place just flat-out stinks and is best described the old fashion way – second place is the first loser. As the first loser they get nothing for participation. They don’t get to become Vice President; they don’t get a key role in the government; and they don’t get to be anything more than an asterisk in U.S. Presidential history.
If this is not bad enough, for the next four years they have to be governed by someone they disagreed with constantly and in many cases show respect and deference for someone who they flat-out despise.
II. Not Everyone Does It
That’s right when it comes to voting you can tell your child the same thing you tell them when they want to do something that you don’t agree with them doing – “not everyone does it”. Voting is no different. In fact, when it comes to voting in the U.S., according to an initial assessment from Michael McDonald of George Mason University’s, only 60 percent of eligible voters voted in the 2012 Presidential Election.
Whether the reason for not voting was the weather, job, health, apathy or being disengaged from the political process, four out of every ten eligible Americans found some reason not to vote.
Don’t forget to share with your children that there are a sizeable number of other people who despite participating in the U.S. economy – paying Federal, State and Local taxes – are ineligible to vote. Among those who are not eligible to vote are ex-felons (in several states) and undocumented aliens.
III. Cash is King
Let your children know that if they ever want to be President of the U.S. they will need to start saving immediately. The cost of the 2012 Presidential Election is estimated to be about $2 billion. Yes, you read that correctly that is “B” as in 2 billion dollars. Who knew that the highest office of the land was for sale to the highest bidder?
Well, if you are smart or at least smarter than a fifth grader, you might want to tell your child to skip the potential embarrassment of losing the election or worse winning the election and watching their privacy evaporate almost as quickly as they watch their skin wrinkle and their hair turn gray.
Instead of wasting their time and money running for the office of the President, tell them to take the $2 billion and waste it on extravagancies which is of course the American way. With a cool 2 billion dollars they could buy any of the following:
- two-thousand Maybach Landaulets
- a $20,000 room every night for 274 years in the most expensive luxury hotel
- twenty $100 million yachts
- 50 Gulf Stream private jets
- 80 private islands
- 250 eight million dollar mansion
IV. Intelligence…Not So Much
In the words of Jesse Jackson “keep hope alive”. This is the motto for any mediocre student who wants to someday become President. As long as you have hope and $2 billion you have a shot. Intelligence is absolutely not a criteria for the office. You are not required to be a Mensa nor is there any type of IQ test given to potential candidates.
Candidates are not required to have graduated at the top of their class. There are no college degrees that take preference over another. There is no requirement for an advanced degree.
The office of the “Leader of the Free World” can be held by the least intelligent among us if of course the price is right. So why do we make such a big deal about education in this country anyway?
V. You Are Not That Important
Finally, your children should know that despite all claims about the significance of each and every vote, each and every vote doesn’t really matter unless you are a member of the Electoral College. The Electoral College, a group of 538, are the real people who actually choose who the President will be. Five-hundred and thirty-eight people determine the fate of the 315 million Americans every four years. Wow! Boy do I ever feel silly wearing this “I Voted” sticker.
What do you think? Will you let your child know these things about the 2012 Presidential Election and future elections?