It’s Time For More Family Current Event Discussions

Your high school-aged daughter paused in front of the TV to see President Biden promise he would make sure every American citizen escaped from Afghanistan. As a typical teen, she probably watched a few minutes then picked up her phone.

Now that the Afghanistan departure debacle has played out, what do our teenagers think about it? And do they know their parents’ thoughts on that and other major news stories?

A study by political scientists Christopher Ojeda and Peter K. Hatemi concluded that less than 50% of children know the political beliefs of their parents. Maybe we keep silent because we believe our teens aren’t interested, but studies show 78% think it is important to follow current events. 

Where do they get most of their news? From social media and YouTube. Thus, most teens are privy to leaders’ behavior and ideas. But that might be a big problem today. If young people begin to emulate these leaders, chaos could result in their lives. 

For one instance, teens see leaders purchasing what they want when they want it. The national government’s income in 2020 was about 3.4 trillion. However, America owes $23.4 trillion to the American people and to other governments. Any kid good at basic math might deduct it’s okay to owe seven times the yearly income.

Perhaps you told your high school senior the family’s budget can’t afford that expensive university he’s chosen. “No problem,” he might have answered. “Students can borrow $196,000 in government loans, for undergrad and grad school combined. Besides, President Biden promised to forgive $10,000 for every student’s debt. And probably a lot more. That’s great!”

We must help our children understand it is not “great” for legitimate debts to be erased from some, because then debt must be transferred to those who did not borrow it. If the Democrats don’t succeed in wiping out most of your son’s school debt, he says he’ll pay it off gradually with his teacher’s salary. Yet,  there’s nothing in the news about Congress paying off the country’s debt. And why should teens and young adults think there’s anything wrong with debt when it’s been nearly 200 years since America was debt free. 

It’s time we let our children know their elected leaders are not financial role models and have little respect for the law.

Teenagers also understand that the legal system isn’t binding on everyone. While illegal immigrants break our laws, they are allowed to hide in over 600 sanctuary jurisdictions which will not cooperate with the arrest of aliens accused of a crime. When America’s blue zone mayors and city managers have no concern for national laws, we shouldn’t be surprised by the increase in crime.

In many blue areas illegals often seem to be given more protection and perks than citizens. New York City, for instance, distributed about $2 billion to illegal aliens, not to struggling citizens. Furthermore, stuck at home last summer, your daughter may have watched the Black Lives Matter riots and wondered why the mayor of Seattle let rioters trash the city while keeping the police out. 

She may have noticed that BLM demonstrations, many of whom burned buildings and smashed windows, were praised for the protests as “essential” and “brilliant” by Vice President Kamala Harris. Obviously, people in leadership allow “different strokes for different folks.”

What should our children think about the Portland fiery riots in which 96 people were arrested but almost half were dismissed? Mostly they served “sentences” of community service such as working in food banks and encouraging people to get out and vote. So our teens learned that violence is often overlooked. Why, then, is it such a bad thing for them to set a fire as a prank?

Finally, what did our teens learn about the American exit from Afghanistan? They saw that people can end long-term commitments without doing it carefully and correctly. They saw there’s no problem with sneaking out in the night or leaving in a violent, hasty retreat.  

The teens also learned how to treat their long-time friends–use people’s help and say you have their backs; then abandon them. Even one’s own family can be left behind to suffer if we decide we’re finished. Teenagers saw their president allow all of that without apology or admission of error.

There we have it—the lessons for life our teens are learning from Democratic leadership. Is it time to institute some current events discussion at the family dinner table?