A couple of legislative sessions ago, a new law was passed requiring all public high school students in Illinois to take a semester of civics before graduating. On its face, this is a noble idea; we adults should help our kids to become better citizens. They should understand the importance of making informed decisions before voting, of how to balance their own interests with the interests of others. And perhaps most importantly, kids need to understand the difference between those who want to rule versus those who want to govern.
But I fear this only stays a noble idea if we can keep kids within the respectful confines of the classroom, because outside those walls state and national politics have continued to be a blood sport, and a poor example of how we would want our kids to conduct themselves as adult citizens.
I would like to think that we as a country have evolved in extending rights and protections to larger sections of our populace, and that our civic discourse would have evolved as well. But, it has not.
Now, I am under no delusions that it’s easy to work with those with whom we have fundamental disagreements, let alone having those fundamental disagreements with those we simply do not like. But as the adults in the proverbial room, we have an obligation to, well, act like adults, and set a better example for the kids who are watching our every move.
I'm Andrew Nelson and that's my Perspective.
