March 28, 2024

It’s getting political in here

It started several weeks ago when my 8-year-old son and I were driving into town listening to music.

“Mom — who sings this song?” he asked. “Honey I have no idea ...”

“I think it’s Bruce Braley,” he said.

And with that, I knew political commercials were making an impact, if only on my son, a third-grader.

However, that was just the tip of the iceberg. He’s since taken a strong interest in the U.S. Senate race. Several days later he approached me.

“Mom, guess what.” he said. “I have Iowa values!” He said it in his best Joni Ernst voice, which was pretty funny, but then he changed his tone.

“We can’t vote for Joni Ernst because she thinks we can survive on $15,000 a year,” my son said. “Can you even imagine?”

He was very sincere for someone who can’t vote, has no concept of a living wage and who himself collects a mere $5 a week, if he does his chores.

I explained to the young chap that campaign season is well underway. Until the Nov. 4 election he’d hear a number of different claims about both Ernst and Braley and not all of them will be accurate.

I also suggested that since he celebrates a birthday the second week of November, the sudden disappearance of the advertising could serve as this year’s birthday present. He still wants an iPhone. (He’s not getting one.)

Last week at the dinner table, we were again confronted with a serious son. “Well, we can’t vote for Bruce Braley. He doesn’t show up to meetings for veterans,” he said.

At this point I was amused that “we” were still voting. Again I explained the ads on TV are sound bites of information, often distorted by the opponent to help influence the election.

“So it’s lying?” he asked. “Um … well, kind of. It’s not outright lying; often it’s based on partial information. It’s not comparing apples to apples all of the time,” I said.

I tried to explain that I hadn’t personally explored any of the claims in the ads, but that I doubted any of them are spot on. I discovered it’s difficult to explain our country’s political practices to a child.

I passed on the best advice I’ve found when considering political candidates. Find out what they stand for and what their priorities are and do that by turning off the TV and doing your own research. Also, don’t even worry about it while you’re in elementary school.

It’s 36 days until the election. Someone hand me the remote.

Contact Editor Abigail Pelzer at (641) 792-3121 ext. 6530 or apelzer@newtondailynews.com