# I pit Jeremy Silber for helping parents brainwash children politically. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 17, 2006, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-jeremy-silber-for-helping-parents-brainwash-children-politically/344920 "2006-02-17T06:46:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![SentientMeat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@SentientMeat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SentientMeat)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2006, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-jeremy-silber-for-helping-parents-brainwash-children-politically/344920/21 "2006-02-17T15:41:24Z")
> [@Neurotik](#): > > Europe and Europeans are just as amoral as the US and just as deluded by illusions of their supremacy in the area of “civilized behavior.” Well, I can but disagree. From Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib through capital punishment, health insurance, homelessness, climate change, murder rates, teen pregnancy, plutocratic influence, drugs policy and creationism, I can (and do) protest the widespread lack of civilisation in my own government, but when I visit the US I truly wonder _how_ so many citizens of the world’s richest nation are so backwards. ---
**Author:** ![Neurotik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@Neurotik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurotik)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2006, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-jeremy-silber-for-helping-parents-brainwash-children-politically/344920/22 "2006-02-17T15:49:24Z")
Well, good thing no one gives a fuck what you think. Let me know when Europe is able to solve a problem without the help of the US sometime. ---
**Author:** ![SentientMeat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@SentientMeat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SentientMeat)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2006, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-jeremy-silber-for-helping-parents-brainwash-children-politically/344920/23 "2006-02-17T16:00:10Z")
Serendipity likewise, friend **Neurotik**. Let me know when the US stops fucking up the rest of the world in its own national interest. ---
**Author:** ![Mtgman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@Mtgman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mtgman)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2006, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-jeremy-silber-for-helping-parents-brainwash-children-politically/344920/24 "2006-02-17T16:54:10Z")
I’ve always felt a parent should work to instill the values of right and wrong, to the best of their understanding, in their children. Beyond that it will be the child, when they reach the age of majority, to decide things like which political parties best reflect their values as they understand them. My parents were staunch Republicans, but they never couched anything in partisan terms. Everything was couched in terms of right and wrong and it was up to us, with the critical thinking skills we were taught, to determine which party we felt was the most “right” in a given situation(both generally falling short of the mark). Enjoy, Steven ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2006, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-jeremy-silber-for-helping-parents-brainwash-children-politically/344920/25 "2006-02-17T20:55:46Z")
> [@Neurotik](#): > > Well, good thing no one gives a fuck what you think. Let me know when Europe is able to solve a problem without the help of the US sometime. > [@SentientMeat](#): > > Serendipity likewise, friend Neurotik. Let me know when the US stops fucking up the rest of the world in its own national interest. Hey, hey, let’s not fight here! You’re\* both\* right. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2006, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-jeremy-silber-for-helping-parents-brainwash-children-politically/344920/26 "2006-02-17T21:00:41Z")
Oh, and with regard to the OP, count me among the creeped out. It’s one thing to teach your child concepts - honour, love, compassion - indeed, i’d argue it’s the duty of parents to do that. However, when you’re directly assigning those qualities to an organisation (“The Democrats are the good party, the Republicans are the good party”) you’re teaching your kids to treat that organisation as embodying those concepts utterly, and for me, that crosses the line from teaching to indoctrination and the encouragement to not think for yourself. ---
**Author:** ![Blalron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@Blalron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blalron)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2006, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-jeremy-silber-for-helping-parents-brainwash-children-politically/344920/27 "2006-02-17T21:34:20Z")
> [@Neurotik](#): > > Well, good thing no one gives a fuck what you think. Let me know when Europe is able to solve a problem without the help of the US sometime. I’m American just like you, but personally I don’t give a fuck what _you_ think either. Go read some history books about our 200 year history of foreign relations and then get back to me on how you still think we’re the good guys. ---
**Author:** ![buttonjockey308](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@buttonjockey308](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buttonjockey308)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2006, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-jeremy-silber-for-helping-parents-brainwash-children-politically/344920/28 "2006-02-17T23:42:48Z")
Seriously creepy indoctrination… If that’s the enlightened Democrat viewpoint, then why isn’t Mommy at work? 😉 **SentientMeat and Neurotik** take **Revenant Threshold’s** words at face value. No government is innocent. I believe personally that the US is the greatest country in the world, but it’s damn sure NOT because of our government. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2006, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-jeremy-silber-for-helping-parents-brainwash-children-politically/344920/29 "2006-02-17T23:51:04Z")
> [@Larry Mudd](#): > > Mommy Squirrel does appear to be protecting her children from a big, scary elephant in the second illustration. I don’t see any way to interpret that other than as a ham-handed attempt to equate the party symbol with the concept of a “threat.” You’re right. I didn’t look close enough to see that it was an elephant. > [@](#): > > Besides, on the “about the book” page, it says that it contains “numerous subtle (and not-so-subtle) satirical swipes at the Bush administration and the Republican party.” So it does. I’d like to change my registration to “Fuck Silber,” please. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2006, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-jeremy-silber-for-helping-parents-brainwash-children-politically/344920/30 "2006-02-18T01:01:04Z")
> [@This space intentionally blank](#): > > When you try to tell kids what to believe, that’s not okay by me. What’s your take on those Bible readers for young ones? Or Mr. Rogers, for that matter? ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2006, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-jeremy-silber-for-helping-parents-brainwash-children-politically/344920/31 "2006-02-18T01:53:16Z")
> [@rjung](#): > > What’s your take on those Bible readers for young ones? Or Mr. Rogers, for that matter? What?!?!? You don’t believe in Mr. Rogers? Heretic!!! _And the fight raged on for a century many lives were claimed, but eventually the champion stood, the rest saw their better: Mr. Rogers in a bloodstained sweater._ -The Ultimate Showdown. ---
**Author:** ![Neurotik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@Neurotik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurotik)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2006, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-jeremy-silber-for-helping-parents-brainwash-children-politically/344920/32 "2006-02-18T02:52:23Z")
> [@Blalron](#): > > I’m American just like you, but personally I don’t give a fuck what _you_ think either. Go read some history books about our 200 year history of foreign relations and then get back to me on how you still think we’re the good guys. _chuckles_ Who said I thought we were the good guys, chump? I’m probably far more aware of our foreign policy adventures (along with the nastiness that resulted) over the years than you are. Doesn’t mean I think Europeans have any room to gloat in the “foreign policy that wreaks havoc in the third world” department. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2006, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-jeremy-silber-for-helping-parents-brainwash-children-politically/344920/33 "2006-02-18T06:38:05Z")
> [@](#): > > **buttonjockey** : If that’s the enlightened Democrat viewpoint, then why isn’t Mommy at work? In the enlightened Democratic viewpoint, Mommy is considered working whether she is homemaking and taking care of babies or working outside the home. The same is true of Daddy. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2006, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-jeremy-silber-for-helping-parents-brainwash-children-politically/344920/34 "2006-02-18T14:40:47Z")
Hey, once they reach adolescence, they’ll most likely rebel against their parents’ politics anyway. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2006, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-jeremy-silber-for-helping-parents-brainwash-children-politically/344920/35 "2006-02-18T15:40:03Z")
> [@SentientMeat](#): > > Well, I can but disagree. From Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib through capital punishment, health insurance, homelessness, climate change, murder rates, teen pregnancy, plutocratic influence, drugs policy and creationism, I can (and do) protest the widespread lack of civilisation in my own government, but when I visit the US I truly wonder _how_ so many citizens of the world’s richest nation are so backwards. Because of course, there’s no teen pregnancy in Europe, no plutocratic influence, no authoritarianism at all, no murder, no pollution, no poverty, no religion, and certainly no European nations would ever be involved in a foreign war. Why, Europe has long been a bastion of peace and equality. Oh, and Yugoslavia is in Africa. You’re edging towards bigotry. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2006, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-jeremy-silber-for-helping-parents-brainwash-children-politically/344920/36 "2006-02-18T16:19:36Z")
> [@Zoe](#): > > In the enlightened Democratic viewpoint, Mommy is considered working whether she is homemaking and taking care of babies or working outside the home. The same is true of Daddy. 🆒 Speaking of Daddy… where is he in this tidy tale? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2006, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-jeremy-silber-for-helping-parents-brainwash-children-politically/344920/37 "2006-02-18T16:24:58Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Speaking of Daddy… where is he in this tidy tale? Probably doing the grocery shopping. And he’s buying Ms. Squirrel’s tampons, since he isn’t uncomfortable with that. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2006, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-jeremy-silber-for-helping-parents-brainwash-children-politically/344920/38 "2006-02-18T16:38:19Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Speaking of Daddy… where is he in this tidy tale? The squirrel kids actually have _two_ Mommies; they appear on alternate pages. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2006, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-jeremy-silber-for-helping-parents-brainwash-children-politically/344920/39 "2006-02-18T20:22:43Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Because of course, there’s no teen pregnancy in Europe, no plutocratic influence, no authoritarianism at all, no murder, no pollution, no poverty, no religion, and certainly no European nations would ever be involved in a foreign war. Why, Europe has long been a bastion of peace and equality. Oh, and Yugoslavia is in Africa. You forget, not only is there no genocide in Europe, there never has been any. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![HeelB4Zod](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e19adc/32.png) [@HeelB4Zod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeelB4Zod)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2006, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-jeremy-silber-for-helping-parents-brainwash-children-politically/344920/40 "2006-02-19T00:34:19Z")
> [@SentientMeat](#): > > Well, I can but disagree. From Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib through capital punishment, health insurance, homelessness, climate change, murder rates, teen pregnancy, plutocratic influence, drugs policy and creationism, I can (and do) protest the widespread lack of civilisation in my own government, but when I visit the US I truly wonder _how_ so many citizens of the world’s richest nation are so backwards. :rolleyes: Tell you what: The day I see American sports fans making monkey noises and throwing bananas at black football/basketball/baseball players, I’ll believe your paternalistic bullshit about being more “enlightened” than us “backward” Americans. Carry on, I guess. After all, paternalistic bullshit is about all you pathetic Euros have to offer the world these days, anyway. 😛 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-jeremy-silber-for-helping-parents-brainwash-children-politically/344920.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-jeremy-silber-for-helping-parents-brainwash-children-politically/344920.md?page=3)