As you may have heard, presidential elections took place here last Sunday. Even though history of instability has made Venezuelans nervous about elections, it was very uneventful. People stood in line, voted and the winner was announced. Pretty much how elections should go.

What did surprise me about this is something my daughter said to me one day on her way home from school.

Daughter: Several of my friends are for Capriles.

Me: Why?

Daughter: Because they say Chavez is a bad man.

Me: What do you think?

Daughter: I don’t agree. When I see him on TV all he does is make people laugh.

Me: What do you think about Capriles?

Daughter: I don’t know anything about him, just that he’s abajo a la izquierda (that was his position on the ballot, which was written on all his campaign materials).

It’s no secret that Venezuelans are highly polarized when it comes to political preferences, but I’ve always felt that sort of thing was only discussed among adults. After hearing my daughter’s simple understanding of politics, I realized that I would never say such things to her about an American or Haitian politician. Of course I think that she should understand the political process, democracy and all that jazz. I just approach politics from a different standpoint.

When I choose to support a candidate, it’s not about the person – it’s about the issues. My values and the way that I think an efficient government should operate are what I base my vote on as opposed to whether or not I like a candidate. So to me, that’s what I need to teach my kids. I don’t want them to be fanatics to the point of saying mean things about people or name calling. Actually, I don’t want them to resort to that sort of behavior…ever.

How did your parents teach you about politics? How do you think children should be taught about it?

When I wrote about the important things that my mother taught me, I was trying to highlight the positive aspects of the Haitian culture. Pretty easy, even though there are lots of cultural habits that bother me. However, when it came down to it I had a hard time coming up with 5 on the other side so, I settled for the following 4:

1) It’s okay to unload your burden. In the Haitian culture, you don’t talk about certain problems; especially those that can potentially reflect poorly on the family. Someone gets arrested, you act like it didn’t happen. Someone gets kicked out of school, you find some story to explain what happened. I understand that thisncones from living in tight-knit communities, but even then it’s not a healthy way to deal with problems. When you’re stressed you need the support of others who genuinely care for you. If you can’t share with anyone you know, then seek professional help (another huge taboo).

2) Question authority. Okay, historically speaking Haitians have a valid reason for taking issue with authority. But somehow, once they immigrate to foreign countries, they become hesistant to do so. Whatever the “law” says goes. Hence, they rarely get involved in community activism and are often afraid to speak out when they see something wrong happening. Immigrants are so easily abused because of their legal status and that fear doesn’t necessarily go away once your status does. I think there are ways that we as a community can start teaching our children, and others around us that it’s not only OK to denounce crimes, it’s our duty.

3) Be curious/creative. A lot of kids from my generation grew up thinking the only way to make your parents proud was to become a doctor, lawyer or an engineer. Creative professions were never considered. I think many people find out what it is that makes them happy by being curious – or wondering what it would be like to [fill in the blank]. I’m encouraging my kids to think about every profession, thoroughly, which is something many young Americans have been forced to do during the Great Recession.

4) Hold other to the same standards you hold yourself. When I took my trip to Boston last week, there were certain people *ahem* family members, who thought that it was irresponsible to leave my children behind. Reason being: I’m the mother and fathers can never be trusted to take care of children. WTF?! Well, I don’t buy this and even though I missed them like crazy, I think the time apart was good for us. How else will the appreciate all the crap I do  This one is more of a gender equality change, but I think it boils down to this, if I expect someone to be able to cook, clean, raise kids, etc., I should be able to do it, too. As with any skill, one of us may be better at it, but that doesn’t give you a permanent get out of jail free card.

Are any of these traits existent in your culture/family? Do you think they should change?