Exploiting Children for Political Gain
I was one of the supervising teachers at the Republican political rally at Cal State Fullerton on Nov. 1. I am just now recovering from my feeling of malaise.
When the principal of the school where I teach proposed that I take one of my classes, we both were under the impression that we would observe the office of the President of the United States in action. The helicopters would land, President Reagan would disembark, he would greet the audience gathered outside, and then he would move into the gymnasium to continue with the Republican rally.
Instead, we were greeted with a strident Congressman Robert Dornan giving the most “mean-spirited” speech yet to be heard since the whole process of choosing a president began. The tone never improved, and we heard it all. Children were used to raise pompons and flags on command. Children were told to applaud on command. Children were used to fill an audience for yet another “sound bite.”
The Republican Party continually espouses family values but obviously has no compunction about exploiting children for its own political advantage.
BEN BOELMAN
Placentia
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