Elections in mature democracies and parenting

The nomination season for the Democratic Party in the USA keeps going on as the contestants get nastier with each other and the rest of the world. However, the race provides a good indication of how people’s representatives are elected in mature democracies where ideologies of the contestant parties differs as much as one Original Whopper sandwich differs from the other. As such, personal factors and personality traits become the key factor on the basis of which voters make up their mind. So while the American dream supposedly makes space for everyone, when it comes to contesting for elected bodies, being a Mormon or a Hindu becomes a significant disadvantage. And if a candidate is an atheist, she might as well settle down in China. Also, for someone to have a chance as a candidate, she needs to have a life story that has never diverged from the prevalent mood of an average American at any time during her lifetime. However, in a few occasions, exceptions are made. A case in point is that even if most Americans supported the Iraq war when it started, it is now a virtue if someone says he opposed it that time.

Given that this election has resulted in scrutiny of even kindergarten essays written by contestants, parents have a crucial role to play to ensure that their child adheres to the median even when her consciousness is yet to be fully developed. And there is enough incentive for parents to make such efforts given that there are a lot of elected posts at different levels making politics a very realistic and attractive career option. Parents should therefore follow every survey that appears in newspapers or other media and cultivate in their child those aspects that are most favored by the majority of the people as indicated in those surveys. Parents need to also groom their children, the potential candidate, to be tough. It’s not necessary to be physically tough even though an army stint during the career does earn a few extra points. Often it’s enough to know the names of a few opponent nations and the nastiest weapons so that when they are contesting, they can combine these two and say “I will not hesitate a moment to nuke Iran” a few times. It’s also good to get any cosmetic enhancements done right at young age for looks do matter and later attempts to enhance appearance may draw flak as seen with John Edward’s $400 haircut. Budding contestants should also be taught by parents to know how to decouple cause and effect so that a non-controversial and ambiguous stance of political correctness can be maintained. For example, as a candidate, it is essential for her to be pro-choice but anti-abortion, pro-economic development but anti-free trade, pro-global poverty eradication but anti-immigration, and pro-democracy but anti-democratically elected Hamas.

And one last thing; till March, Obama had raised $234 million Clinton, $189 million and McCain, $76 million for their campaigns. Given such astronomical figures, it may not be a bad idea for parents who would wish to groom their children as potential candidates to start raising funds for the 2052 elections right now.