How Politicians Make Parents Look like Hypocrites

Growing up, we are taught to admit to our mistakes so that we can learn from them and not repeat them. As human beings cursed with our own free will, we are expected to err with the understanding that those errors will teach us something and help us to evolve into better versions of ourselves. We must acknowledge and admit to our mistakes, reflect on what should have been done differently, and implement what we've learned in future decisions. Refusing to do so will lead to an inevitable, detrimental, and irreversible snowball effect, such as the Iraq war.

I am often bothered by the absence of those earliest life lessons in politics. I can't let my children watch the news, not because of the violence and risk of nightmares, but because I worry that the example that politicians are setting and pundits are echoing and thriving on will surely unravel all of my hard parenting work. How can I explain my policy of playing fair, sharing, no name calling, no hitting, and no lying if my children are watching these elected leaders of our nation break every one of these rules? I would surely come off as quite the hypocrite.

The term flip flopping is a prime example of such hypocrisy. It has become the Republican slang for notions such as learning, reasoning, logic and common sense. They use it to defend their position on never admitting to making a mistake. No matter how badly their plans may go awry, or how destructive their actions may be to our nation, the single most important thing is to stand by their close minded beliefs and devastating reflex reactions because anything else means admitted defeat and bruised egos.