How to Reinvent Government: Independence Day Bonus Page
Theme of the Week: The Difference One Can Make
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
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Independence Day Bible Verse: Give respect and honor to all to whom it is due (Romans 13:7.
Start with your own family! Raise your children with a proper view of politics. Whet their appetite for the splendid opportunity of being active citizens. How?
Confront your own cynicism about politicians and "the system." (Because most citizens are selfish just like us, the founding fathers designed our system to limit any one person's power.) Cynicism won't help the next generation change things, so take another approach.
Respect the office, even when you can't respect the office-holder. My parents held strong opinions about political decisions, but always distinguished between the person who was governor (or whatever) and the office itself. It's safest to criticize policies—and only when you can offer alternatives.
Help your children learn to think clearly. Teach them how to evaluate statistics. Sit down with them and watch a political speech together and talk about it. Read several letters to the editor and talk about them.
Don't go with the crowd. Training a child not to succumb to peer pressure carries over into the political realm. We don't want our children voting for "winners"—but standing up for what's right. Politics will change as some people "stand up and are counted."
Show up. At the local level—the library trustees, the school district—so few are involved that just by "showing up" you can have great impact. Whether it's calling into a radio talk show or attending a city council meeting, take your children along.
—David Warnick in Fathers.com
Adapted from Fathers.com (The National Center for Fathering, 10/27/06) by permission.
Copyright © 2007 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity magazine.Click here for reprint information on Men of Integrity. 1 of 1
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