Ollie's pick for the President of The United States is Diana.
I have told Ollie that this is indeed a great choice.
Ollie’s awareness of politics has grown over the past couple years. He knows who trump is, and he also knows that he is scared, and sad, which is why he is so mean. Every once in a while, he will confirm his knowledge and ask me why trump is so sad. I will tell him about why trump is lonely, how he doesn’t have any friends and how he tries to interact with people by being mean because he doesn’t know how else to be. Ollie usually confirms “he is sad he is mean to people.”
I loved that in Ollie’s younger years I could show him videos of President Obama I knew this President would give him a great model of dignity, intelligence, and empathy.
I have never let Ollie watch footage of trump speaking because more often than not he uses language that is inappropriate for Ollie to hear. He often says things that are sexist, and insulting, without warning. I don’t let my children watch professional wrestling with me, or R-rated film, and I don’t let my children watch trump speak. It's irresponsible for me as a parent to do so.
When I was a child, the person I knew the most as President was Ronald Reagan. I heard him give speeches and I knew him generally as a grandfatherly nice guy. He was the person that I first conceived of as being “presidential.” As a child I was completely unaware of his disastrous economic policies, his homophobic response to the AIDs crisis, and the racist coded language that was sprinkled throughout his speeches.
Knowing all of this now when I see footage of him, I get why I was allowed to see footage of him talking as child at home and at school. The lack of explicit rudeness, derogatory language, and generally acting like a reasonable human being in public made him okay for children to see.
There are so many things that are horrible about this current president and his administration, and the fact that I cannot in good conscious show one of his speeches at school to my students or my children because of very real concerns of hate speech has robbed American children of well, an actual president. Let that sink in for a second. Our current president regularly uses language that inappropriate for children to hear.
When I think about which candidate on the Democratic side I’m supporting in the primary, one of the things that I’m considering is how this will affect my sons.
I want a President that can inspire my child to a positive citizen who fights for social justice. I want a President who speaks with language that inspires and I am proud to have my son replicate. And I want a President that my son can look up, that we all can be proud to call our President.
Ollie's wants Diana as President but she's not going to be on the ballot. So instead I'll vote for the candidate who is the closet to Diana, Senator Warren.
Senator Warren and Diana have faced people their entire lives who think less of them because of their gender, however have never given up and become complacent. They both see the best in all of us while also having a keen understanding of systems of oppression and intersectionality. Better than any other candidate, Warren and Diana understand that creating affordable child care and universal preschool will positivity effect every single facet of our society.
Ollie knows trump as the President and has no problem imagining Diana in that role. So take a second and just imagine Senator Warren as the President...or Diana. Think of how great that would be.
I would be the best First Man. Weekly concerts...Bruce, Yola, Lin Manuel, Brandi all on the same stage.
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