A Lesson in Civics and Civility

Around The United States of America, election season is currently upon us. With the approaching election comes a variety of events that bring typical citizens into the immediate presence of elected and soon-to-be elected officials. As a very young person, I found myself at events that fell in the "Reception" or "Meet and Greet" category. I confess that these continue to be my favorite as they tend to be rather relaxed but with a slight buzz of excitement as the candidate or public servant mingles without note cards or advisers at his or her side and conversations tend to be less emotional and more authentic. Other types of civic social events might include rallies, fundraisers, and election night parties.

Some children begin attending these types political events as young as preschoolers - even when they aren't related to politicians or their staff members. I think this is wonderful as I believe it likely leads to a lifelong awareness, if not a profound interest, in civic and political affairs. As long as these affairs don't run too late into the evening; and, the consumption of alcoholic beverages is inconspicuous, children may find these events both entertaining and interesting.

Are there general expectations regarding ones attendance and participation at these events? Yes.

As soon as you accept the invitation and/or walk into the event, your child and you are expected to be polite, generally supportive, and engaged in the experience.

Polite means arriving as expected, being dressed appropriately, shaking hands with everyone you meet, eating/drinking moderately, simply behaving a a pleasant guest would be expected to behave.

It has been my experience that candidates enjoy a hearing brief stories about how they have or might impact constituents almost as much as they enjoy telling you how they believe they have or might impact constituents. This is also true of most guests at the event.

I encourage parents to dress the children up a little bit and take them to these events so that they may be exposed to the fun and social side of politics - even if for just 30 minutes. So long as the guests of the event are polite and respectful - not prone to R or X rated language/discussions (which might be the case in 2017's political climate), I expect that your child will have an amusing and interesting experience.

God Bless America!

#politcs #civics #civility #children