How to teach young children conservative values!

[thebeat]

Help! Mom! There are liberals under my bed!



Was debating over whether putting this in Humor or in Politics, but I choose here, I report you decide!

Quick summary of the book!

"Help! Mom! There Are Liberals Under My Bed! A Small Lesson in Conservatism" is a wonderful way to teach young children the valuable lessons of conservatism. In simple text, parents and children follow Tommy and Lou on their quest to earn money for a swing set their parents cannot afford. As their dream gets stuck in Liberaland, Tommy and Lou’s lemonade stand is hit with many obstacles.

Liberals keep appearing from behind their lemon tree, taking half of their money in taxes, forbidding them to hang a picture of Jesus atop their stand, and making them give broccoli with each glass sold.

Law after law instituted by the press-hungry liberals finally results in the liberals taking over Tommy and Lou’s stand and offering sour lemonade at astronomical prices to the customers

I found this funny...discuss!

[Mojo_PeiPei]

It's pretty ridiculous concept for a book, I'll admit. What's even more ridiculous is the fact that the book is really not offbase, granted it is a "smidge" dramatic and indulgent.

[Dwayne]

Im sick of these stereotypical things that conservatives claim liberals do. No all liberals are for raising taxes. I am very liberal, this means I support Gay Marrige and Prochoice etc....however im not pro taxes. I hate taxes also.

[archer2371]

Overblown, yes. Funny, I chuckled a bit. If you don't like it don't read it, it's your right to not look at it, (just as it is the right of someone to change the channel without the help of the FCC). I kind of think this is a non-issue, what would be really funny is if a sharp witted liberal came out with "Help! Dad! There are conservatives under my bed!" Then I might read both to laugh at the outrageous caricatures of both sides.

[roachboy]

i do worry a bit about the movement within some conservative circles to opt out of the existing educational system in favor of reactionary homeschooling or church basement bible-based schools--they seem to me to hamstring children in the name of the parents ideology. to the extent that this book is something like a symptom of this--which has been going on for quite a while now--it does not strike me as funny.

[Journeyman]

I'd rather spend money on children's books that will teach my kids tolerance and understanding.

[sailor]

Originally posted by Dwayne
Im sick of these stereotypical things that conservatives claim liberals do. No all liberals are for raising taxes. I am very liberal, this means I support Gay Marrige and Prochoice etc....however im not pro taxes. I hate taxes also.

No shit. Me too.

Originally posted by Journeyman
I'd rather spend money on children's books that will teach my kids tolerance and understanding.

Agreed.


Pretty funny though

[skyscan]

Let us not be upset about liberals being stereotyped and not call out when the same thing happens to conservatives.

Remember, always keep a balance.

I'll do my best to not refer to conservatives as rich, war mongering, or oppressive to freedom. After all, we support tolerance and understanding right?

[Journeyman]

Edit: I almost had a point, but I read the post wrong.

To make a contribution regardless, Skyscan is right. All stereotypes need to be kept in check.

[Scipio]

If we're going to lie to our kids, I think we ought to stick with Santa. With the book, would-be do-gooders have to contend with evil liberals who wreck their plans. At least with Santa, people who are good get some presents to show for it, and you can't tax that!

[HugAPug]

I have a pretty big issue with this book.

1) It's supposed to be taken seriously
2) It's directed towards children, especially young children, who are easily influenced by outside influences.

So this means that this book is intended to influence young children and how they view others, in a close-minded way. Personally, I don't think that's a healthy way to raise children. Shouldn't they be allowed to make informed political choices later in life, without being raised to hate or fear a certain group? I don't think I even knew the definition of "conservative" or "liberal" when I was a kid. It just seems wrong to me.

[rukkyg]

On a more serious note, the best way to teach young children how to be conservative is simple:


Lie

[Locobot]

They forgot to include the part in the book where the children go bankrupt because their competitors are importing powdered lemonade from Mexico at a fraction of the cost.

[Bill O'Rights]

Originally Posted by HugAPug

I have a pretty big issue with this book.

1) It's supposed to be taken seriously
2) It's directed towards children, especially young children, who are easily influenced by outside influences.

A.) I really doubt that it's meant to be taken seriously. At least I know that I don't take it seriously. It's kinda hard to. It rather reminds me of that book that came out some years ago...PC Fairy Tales. Yeah, kinda like that.

B.) Although it's written with a children's book style, I think that it is intended to be read by adults. It's satire. At least, I hope that it's satire.

[Rodney]

The silly thing is being so insecure in your own beliefs that you don't want to give your children a chance to gather their own information and make up their own minds -- be you a conservative or liberal, atheist or evangelical. And you risk turning your kids into hothouse flowers -- so indoctrinated in your own beliefs that they can't make any sense of the rest of the world.

Pontius Pilate has the best line in the Bible: "What is truth?"

[ARTelevision]

I think it's a good book among the many and varied children's books that promote agendas that are out there already.

[Nad Adam]

Cool, where can I buy it? Satire for sure. Right?

[matthew330]

Agree with Bill O'Rights. I don't think you'll be seeing this in any kindergarten classrooms or in a book store next to Dr. Seuss. The intended audience is definately adults. Children, especially young children, don't have the capacity to grasp the intricacies of politics anyway.

[gibingus]

Originally Posted by Locobot

They forgot to include the part in the book where the children go bankrupt because their competitors are importing powdered lemonade from Mexico at a fraction of the cost.

this gave me pause... considering how "flip flop" has become such a buzz word in this election year... to think that "buy american" is part of the liberal agenda now rather than the stereotype that conservatives painted of liberals in the seventies - intellectual hippies driving import cars.

maybe the moral of this children's tale is be careful of pledging your allegiance to any party, because the ideology you base it upon will most likely be picked up by the other side in a few decades.

[aphroditeskiss1]

How about we don't teach our children conservative values and let them form their own? Teach them love for everyone and tolerence as the two biggest beliefs a person should ever hold. Then if they choose to become conservative, you know it was THEIR choice and not something to make Mom and Dad (and Mr. dumbass Bush) happy.

[tricks]

What's wrong with a picture of Jesus on a Lemonaide stand. Is it a Government owned Lemonaide stand?

And, as for satire. I thought Rush Limbaugh was supposed to be satire in the begining....

[hilbert25]

I have a problem with anyone saying that it's wrong to teach your kids conservatism. I'm hardly a conservative (who the hell let bush into the whitehouse? I really need to hug a tree), but I would not ever hold it against someone who teaches their kids what they truly believe is right, as long as it's not hate. Classifying conservatism as hate would not only be a stereotype, but an outright lie. People who have knee-jerk reactions to teaching your kids your beliefs are just funny. Would you not teach your kids your religion? Or try to get your kids to play your sport? Perhaps even study the same field as you? People love to have kids in their own image.

Granted, trying to force them into something is probably wrong, but simply reading a book to them is just fine with me. Of course, if I ever had a kid and tried to teach them conservatism, or liberalism, or whatever, they'd just pick the opposite when they became a rebelious teenager anyway.

[Halx]

This is the kinda stuff they taught to Hitler's youth, minus the Heil Furher stuff. Not joking here. Substitute Liberals with Jews and you have the political platform of the Nazi party.

In that sense, I find this book and the fact that it was even published to be fairly tragic.

[ballze]

It's never to young!!!

[Superbelt]

That "Lemonade story" reminds me of this email:

Joe gets up at 6:00am to prepare his morning coffee. He fills his pot full of good clean drinking water because some liberal fought for minimum water quality standards. He takes his daily medication with his first swallow of coffee. His medications are safe to take because some liberal fought to insure their safety and work as advertised.

All but $10.00 of his medications are paid for by his employers medical plan because some liberal union workers fought their employers for paid medical insurance, now Joe gets it too. He prepares his morning breakfast, bacon and eggs this day. Joe's bacon is safe to eat because some liberal fought for laws to regulate the meat packing industry.

Joe takes his morning shower reaching for his shampoo; His bottle is properly labeled with every ingredient and the amount of its contents because some liberal fought for his right to know what he was putting on his body and how much it contained. Joe dresses, walks outside and takes a deep breath. The air he breathes is clean because some tree hugging liberal fought for laws to stop industries from polluting our air. He walks to the subway station for his government subsidized ride to work; it saves him considerable money in parking and transportation fees. You see, some liberal fought for affordable public transportation, which gives everyone the opportunity to be a contributor.

Joe begins his work day; he has a good job with excellent pay, medicals benefits, retirement, paid holidays and vacation because some liberal union members fought and died for these working standards. Joes employer pays these standards because Joes employer doesn't want his employees to call the union. If Joe is hurt on the job or becomes unemployed hell get a worker compensation or unemployment check because some Liberal didn't think he should lose his home because of his temporary misfortune.

Its noon time, Joe needs to make a Bank Deposit so he can pay some bills. Joe's deposit is federally insured by the FSLIC because some liberal wanted to protect Joes money from unscrupulous bankers who ruined the banking system before the depression.

Joe has to pay his Fannie Mae underwritten Mortgage and his below market federal student loan because some stupid liberal decided that Joe and the government would be better off if he was educated and earned more money over his life-time.

Joe is home from work, he plans to visit his father this evening at his farm home in the country. He gets in his car for the drive to dads; his car is among the safest in the world because some liberal fought for car safety standards. He arrives at his boyhood home. He was the third generation to live in the house financed by Farmers Home Administration because bankers didn't want to make rural loans. The house didn't have electricity until some big government liberal stuck his nose where it didn't belong and demanded rural electrification. (Those rural Republicans would still be sitting in the dark!)

He is happy to see his dad who is now retired. His dad lives on Social Security and his union pension because some liberal made sure he could take care of himself so Joe wouldn't have to. After his visit with dad he gets back in his car for the ride home.

He turns on a radio talk show, the hosts keeps saying that liberals are bad and conservatives are good. (He doesn't tell Joe that his beloved Republicans have fought against every protection and benefit Joe enjoys throughout his day) Joe agrees, We don't need those big government liberals ruining our lives; after all, I'm a self made man who believes everyone should take care of themselves, just like I have.

[rukkyg]

Originally Posted by Superbelt

That "Lemonade story" reminds me of this email:

Hey, Joe is my dad!

[rukkyg]

just what our children need, July 2, 2004
Reviewer: A reader
this is such a unique book from which EVERYONE can learn. it is a sweet story to read to your children, while at the same time it is a teaching tool of lessons that are so valuable and necessary in today's world. i read it to my children and they laughed out loud about the big toe (you'll have to read it to find out what that's all about). the story is great because it is the kind of story that they love now as young children, but as they get older and begin to understand how our great country works, they will appreciate it even more.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/cus...=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Sadly, there are people who are taking this book seriously.

[brianna]

I think it is incredibly dangerous for our society to demonize those we disagree with. when we turn people with viewpoints that differ from our own into the evil enemy we tend to forget about their humanity and lose all ability to communicate or work together. This attitude has become overly prevalent on both sides of the political fence and i find it not only distasteful but counterproductive and even dangerous. It is never ok to teach your children to stereotype and hate other people without reason.

[Scipio]

Originally Posted by hilbert25

I have a problem with anyone saying that it's wrong to teach your kids conservatism. I'm hardly a conservative (who the hell let bush into the whitehouse? I really need to hug a tree), but I would not ever hold it against someone who teaches their kids what they truly believe is right, as long as it's not hate. Classifying conservatism as hate would not only be a stereotype, but an outright lie. People who have knee-jerk reactions to teaching your kids your beliefs are just funny. Would you not teach your kids your religion? Or try to get your kids to play your sport? Perhaps even study the same field as you? People love to have kids in their own image.

Granted, trying to force them into something is probably wrong, but simply reading a book to them is just fine with me. Of course, if I ever had a kid and tried to teach them conservatism, or liberalism, or whatever, they'd just pick the opposite when they became a rebelious teenager anyway.

One area where I agree with conservatives on principle is the idea that moral relativism isn't really the best way to go about it. I truly believe that liberalism (in an honest or ideal form) is objectively superior to conservatism, and that it's not merely what I prefer. I sometimes think that Democrats are afraid of what they believe, and that they hold all ideas to be equally valid, including conservatism. They should know that many leading conservatives don't feel that way about liberalism.

One other point: I understand that the book is clearly meant as a work of satire, meant for adults. That much is obvious. However, I disagree wholeheartedly that children are incapable of understanding politics, or that they simply wouldn't care. If we can make children believe in Jesus, the devil, Santa Claus, and the Easter Bunny, why can't we give them political biases as well?

[Zeld2.0]

I personally think that overall, people should allow their kids to learn and decide themselves.

My father never once brought up politics to me in a discussion until I was 18. By then I had formulated many thoughts that were even in contrast to his (though many were the same as well).

In a way I follow this creed in the same way I have never been in organized religion - I prefer to think and believe through my own self, and not at an early age, get told what to think.

[matthew330]

Agreed Zeld; however, you're doing your kids a disservice to not instill your values and beliefs in them. To sit back and think that the world will teach your children all they need to know, is nothing more than a lazy parent. There's a million and one learning experiences they'll encounter that you have no control over. Seems to me, you have the obligation to explain to your children why you believe what you do, the opportunity to do it, and hope it influences how they process these outside experiences you have no control over.

it's not like this book is on the New York Times bestseller list. I wouldn't feel the need to resort to a book like this to teach my children values. In fact, if a parent feels the need to utilize whatever benefits they think this book has to offer - well that kids got a lot more obstacles to overcome than whatever venom this book might inject them with. If i were a betting man, i'd put money on the fact that not one conservative will read this book as a bedtime story for their little ones. Here's where i'm going to show my true colors though: If it were "Help Mom, there are conservatives under my bed", you'd see this one in every kindergarten class in the country (remember the teacher that wore the "not my president" t-shirt to her kindergarten class).

[crewsor]

Here's at least one conservative who has done exactly what you bet against them doing. Using this book as a primer for their 8 year old. Thats what is scary. One persons satire is anothers Bible.

Link





Help, Mom, There Are Liberals Under My Bed!
W. J. Rayment / Conservative Bookstore -- What is it that makes liberals so scary? Is it their blind refusal to see that property rights are intimately tied up with individual freedom?. Is it their unceasing assault on free speech through political correctness? Is it their undying support for victimhood that creates dependent classes in society? Is it their sense of entitlement? Or is it their overarching notion that they know how to live our lives better than we do?


Laid out starkly in this manner, we see how scary liberals really are. Yet they clothe themselves in caring words, and try to swaddle us in the nanny state. The battleground of ideas is where we do daily battle with both the misguided and the demagogues. However, the place to win this battle is in the minds and hearts of the young. Katherine DeBrecht is acutely aware of the war that rages and where her efforts can best be made. She has written a children's book that vividly illustrates the effects of liberalism on society in general and on two boys with a lemonade stand in particular.

In clear and steady prose, coupled with the high art of caricature, we are treated to the unremitting and stifling power of liberal policies as imposed on the dream of two boys. The resulting work is candid, fresh and educational. My eight year old daughter got hold of the book from off my desk. I generally get heavy tomes in the mail and she ignores them. But when she saw me produce this book from a USPS package she simply had to have a look at it. She read it once. She read it again. Then I read it to her and explained some of the nuances. She quickly grasped the terrible error of leftist ideas.

Ms. DeBrecht certainly understands children. For her explanations are obvious, but at the same time they prompt questions that make the child think more deeply about the issue under discussion. This book reads on several levels simultaneously. First, we have the story of the boys and their struggle. Next, we have the encroachment of the liberals. Finally, we have the effects of those policies.

Children like to read the same book over and over. Indeed, this my child did. So much so, that she actually mislaid it once, delaying my review. The book made a deep impression on her. It has helped her see the world as it is and not through the rose colored glasses the liberal left would impose upon her.

This is a great book for conservatives to help explain to their children why we must fight this ideological struggle with the left. Yet, this is not a work that dwells only on the negative. It also lauds hard work, cogent thinking and conservative ideas.

Highly recommended for children 6 years to adult.

This book is available at Amazon.com.

[Pacifier]

the title is wrong it should be
"indoctrination for dummies"
or
"the basics of propaganda"

[student]

If there were liberals under your bed and you needed a swing set but your parents couldn't afford it, wouldn't the liberals help the boys get the swing set? Being conservative didn't put us on the moon first.