We tell ourselves they’re too young or we’re protecting them, but this administration affects our children too
You’d think telling kids the truth would be a reflex for the adults in this world. Then again, you’d think it would be a reflex to make sure all kids have food, clothing, and a place to call home. But no.
Unlike food, clothing, and housing, the truth doesn’t cost a thing. Even so, we will tell kids they’re too young to learn where babies come from. We tell them that their dead pets have gone to the farm or crossed the rainbow bridge. And we tell ourselves that they’re too young to understand politics — or that the current political scene is too nasty for children to know about.
When I told my mother I was writing a biography of Trump for young adults, she clasped her hands together and said, “Oh. There aren’t going to be swears in it, are there?”
“Mom,” I said, “’Pussy’ is on the first page.”
That was an exaggeration.
The word doesn’t come until a couple of pages in — but of course it belongs in a biography of the nation’s 45th president. The moment video footage of him saying the word and admitting to grabbing women’s privates without their consent was a pivotal one for his campaign. The Republican Party almost dumped him as a candidate. There was significant doubt whether he could come back from such an appalling admission. Then operatives from the Russian government released thousands of emails, some embarrassing, stolen from Democrats. Trump’s campaign stayed alive. Ultimately, he was elected.
