Rantz: Bad parenting on display at Women’s March

You shouldn’t impose a religion on your son or daughter. If you’re a Christian parent, certainly bring your child up with Christian values, but I don’t think you should force your kid to “believe” something he or she may not.

They shouldn’t be punished if they don’t feel the same spiritual calling that you do and they shouldn’t be forced to go to Church or Bible school if they’ve decided it’s not for them. I’m happy letting the child make their own decision when the time is right.

Photos: Seattle Women’s March

Likewise, I don’t think you should force a political belief on your son or daughter. I saw lots of parents or guardians at the Women’s March using their kids as political props, holding up signs they don’t understand yet; indeed, some had signs they literally couldn’t even read, given their age.

Yes, I know, you’re a woke parent – but that wokeness doesn’t necessarily translate to your toddler in a stroller. And using your 7-year-old as a walking billboard for your own political beliefs – not theirs – is a symptom of bad parenting.

I’m generalizing a bit here, but the parents who say they won’t force religion on their kid — or even gender, on their kid — are the exact ones who are bringing their kids along to a protest, having them hold up signs that reflect the parent’s political opinions, not their own. Because at the age of 7, your son or daughter may not know what impeachment is and they’re certainly in no position to make an informed decision on where they stand.

I take no issue with bringing kids to any nonviolent protests. Go for it. The more the merrier. It teaches them the importance of being civically engaged and the people-watching is a hoot.

But why are you OK pushing your political beliefs on them when there’s such a distaste for pushing religion or gender norms? Your arrogance in believing only you’re on the right side of political issues?

I know some are trying to convince the world that this is only about respecting women, but who are you fooling? This is an ideological movement. These people may not have been called to the streets under a President Rubio or Kasich, but these activists hold their positions to be just as odious as they do Trump’s. And with the level of non-Trump or Women’s Rights signs in the crowd, it’s pretty clear this is about pushing one political side.

The parents who happily shove a sign in their kid’s hand to teach them about the “resistance” will not teach their kids about the other side in any fair or reasonable manner. They’re creating an echo chamber, early in life, which engenders in these kids a level of intolerance of anyone who disagrees when they encounter them later on in life. They won’t understand the other side and when you don’t understand something, generally you either fear it or hate it. It’s why, for too long, why so many conservatives (and older liberals) hated gays: they hated and/or feared us because they were never realized they knew gay people. Kids – like adults – are best served by hearing from all different perspectives. It’s like that concept of diversity you keep telling everyone you cherish, while, somehow, forgetting that ideological diversity actually exists.

By the way, on the off chance your kids escapes your parental-led ideological bigotry, how might you think they’ll feel when they actually grow up and feel more of a connection to a Republican set of principles? Will they feel like you’re judging them the way you judge other Republicans? Will you, as a parent, feel like you failed? Will you disown your conservative kids?

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