From grade school ball, to the polls

While watching a grade school basketball game, I couldn’t help but to notice the behavior of some of the kids versus the others. Some of the boys would be loud and aggressive and some of them more passive. I watched one roll his eyes and get upset on the court for missing a free throw, and another one could have cared less.

Then my attention drew to the parents—there reactions and expressions. I didn’t need a roster to know whose kid was whose. At that age, the child’s behavior is almost identical to the parents. If dad shook his head in the stands, his son was doing the same on the court.

But let’s look years from now. How does a parent’s relationship and behavior with their child affect their political views rather than their free throw? It’s no longer time to inbound the ball, it’s time to vote, and I’ve got a good feeling a majority of the players will have the same ballot as mom and dad.

Parental influence is huge. The morals that children learn at home, in school, or anywhere are crucial to their future views.

The well-known British politician and Prime Minister, Winston Churchill once said, “Show me a young conservative and I’ll show you a man without a heart. Show me an old liberal and I’ll show you a man without a brain.” So we’ll assume the young voters will remain liberal, and the elderly voters will be conservative.

I can see it. In the 2010 elections, 57% of youth voters voted Democrat, 40% voted Republican. Out of all voters—45% Democrat and 52% Republican. So Churchill had a point.

I think that it goes back to the home grounds. If dad was a strict father—conservative, then it’s one of two things, the child will grow up to despise being raised Republican, voting Democrat, or continue in his footsteps. If dad was a nurturant parent—liberal, then it would be the same similar outcome. Either way, the voter needs to know where they stand and why.

A presidential election is just around the corner. As sad as it is to admit, I do not think that people, specifically ages 18-29, know who they are voting for.

Morals are a huge part. What town you grew up in probably matters too. But this is not how a vote should count. More votes are needed by young adults, but what is really needed is more knowledge and understanding of the political system at hand.

Whichever mom and dad choose, they most likely raised you that way. It is the responsibility of a young adult to vote for whom they want in office. Not necessarily who there parents want.

Campaigns are going to cover televisions, radios, internet, and ads all over the states these next few months. They are going to aim at the young people whose votes will not only count now, but as the future. Campaigns will do their job to manipulate, win over, and convince you who to vote for. Maybe mom and dad will to.

I know my parents. They raised five kids, same morals, same religion, same views, beliefs, everything. I look back and think how I was sheltered. I thought that as we all grew up and moved onto college, my parents would gain five votes to their party. I was shocked to find out that they didn’t.

Out of their own research, opinion, and knowledge of politics, you could split my family almost directly down the middle.

It’s a big deal. It’s liberal v. conservative. The Democratic Party v. the Republican Party. A donkey v. an elephant. It’s the ultimate choice. It is the most common line. Only 3% voted other in 2010.

So what needs to happen before people hit the polls this November is knowledge of candidates in each party. It’s time to vote with wisdom. Take the morals you learned on the court and begin to understand them, having courage to realize the differences. It may come down to the relationship with the parents, but it is ultimately more. You can’t travel, you have to dribble. Make your vote count for who you think is right. You can play aggressive but you can’t foul.