Truths:Elementary Elections

So, Friday was the big elementary school elections for my daughter. The whole process is truly something our country should consider as a best practice.

It started a few weeks ago when my daughter came home and said, “Maggie is running for President and said that I could be her Secretary.”

Hmm, we thought and said, “Why don’t YOU run for President and let Maggie be your secretary?”

I can’t help it; I am a type A personality!

Needless to say, my daughter was quite content with running for Secretary and so the campaigning began.

Here is the first example our government should enact: the candidates could only spend $6.00 and everything they did or handed out had to be made. No candy, no pencils, no toys.

All of their signs had to be hand written – no copies, no computer print-outs.

Can we even imagine a dollar cap on our legislative campaigns? Oh, the money that could be used towards education…

So, my daughter, her friend, and I spent 3 hours creating little trinkets for her to hand-out on the “small speeches” day which was held during the lunch hours. We made pencil cut-outs, of course! She is running for Secretary!

She went to school that day, grocery bag in hand, full of our creations and a note card with her “small speech.” Her experience campaigning was about to begin.

She came home glowing. Everyone loved her pencils and was wearing them. Her speech went well. All of her posters were taped up in the halls and things were going right as planned.

There were no signs hanging up trash talking the other candidates, no one handed out things like candy; they followed the rules.

Friday was the real speech day and right after would be voting. There were no primaries to deal with. No one had to declare a party. Each name was on the ballot in alphabetical order. Students were to vote for who they wanted best – not based on what party the students were from because there were no parties – just individuals standing behind their own unique ideals not having to conform to a party.

A few mothers/friends and I went to the school to cheer our kids on.

One thing the girls learned from last year is that they shouldn’t all run for the same position because the votes were all split between them and no one won. No, this year, they all ran for a different job. Perhaps, politicians in the making – learning the tricks of the trade.

About 40 candidates ran for the 8 or so positions and we all sat, okay stood, through each of the speeches

As moms, we were more nervous than our kids. My heart pounding as if I was going to get up and public speak.

The kids were great. They were honest and sincere about why they wanted to run. One kid even said, “I will not promise things like candy for lunch. I will only promise things I can deliver.”

How refreshing!

These 10 and 11 year olds got it. They weren’t up there lying or bad mouthing each other. They were up there because they wanted to do something fun and serve their school.

There is no money involved, no life long pension, no bribes from the powerful interest group. This was a clean race – a race of naivety, of young passion to serve their classmates and to have fun.

Why aren’t our races like that? What happened to politicians that it became about greed and hate and he said, she said.

Is there anyone, anymore running because they have a sincere and honest passion to serve our country?

We can only hope that as these young politicians grow-up, they aren’t tainted and that some of them might run for office in the same manner as they ran for student council in 5th grade.

Sadly, the odds aren’t in our favor.