Post by the sandman on Mar 8, 2009 16:10:15 GMT -5
It's not my intention to attack a 14 year old (the OP says 13, but the kid has had a birthday), but I do have concerns here.
First, is he being exploited by right-wing parents and political fundamentalists? I know his father says that he and his wife are not "political," but surely they see that their strict, conservative, right-wing homeschooling has shaped thier son. It's not like the kid woke up one morning and decided to be a Republican. His parents claim he came to his interest in politics entirely on his own at age 8 when there was a Democratic fillibuster in the Senate, but that's such obvious bullshit it barely bears repeating. There is not an 8 year old in existence that is even aware of the US Senate, much less partisan fillibusters, unless their attention is directed thus by their parents. Especially a home-schooled 8 year old.
So is he being exploited, or is this an actual child with such a maturely developed intellect that he can actually make such assessments of the abstract world with total autonomy?
Which is really the heart of the matter. At age 14, children are still developing their adult identities. They try on new personalities more often than they do outfits or musical tastes. Is a 14 (8 when he supposedly began) year old's identification as a "Republican conservative" valid at that age? Would it be any more valid if he declared himself to be a "liberal socialist?" Is any absolute declaration of identity at age 14 valid?
I don't want to marginalize anyone, regardless of age, but how seriously should a 14 year old be taken on matters of national and international politics? He has said nothing that is not merely parroted official party line. To listen to him is like listening to a very well-written book report on the Fox News Chanel. There is nothing original here, nothing showing any independant thought. From the dismissal of the stimulus packages, to the disdain for taxation, to the doubt about Obama's birth certificate, it's all just official right-wing GOP talking points.
He's got talent as a speaker, that's not to be denied. He has definite potential as a writer, absolutely. But when all is said and done, he is just distilling "Fox and Friends." There is nothing here that would make me take him seriously as a source of political thought.
He is not so much a "pundit" (as he self-describes) as he is a muppet allowing the GOP to speak through him, which makes me definitely lean towards thinking that he is just being used by the Republicans in a desperate attempt to catch the public eye. And that? That verges on child abuse.
First, is he being exploited by right-wing parents and political fundamentalists? I know his father says that he and his wife are not "political," but surely they see that their strict, conservative, right-wing homeschooling has shaped thier son. It's not like the kid woke up one morning and decided to be a Republican. His parents claim he came to his interest in politics entirely on his own at age 8 when there was a Democratic fillibuster in the Senate, but that's such obvious bullshit it barely bears repeating. There is not an 8 year old in existence that is even aware of the US Senate, much less partisan fillibusters, unless their attention is directed thus by their parents. Especially a home-schooled 8 year old.
So is he being exploited, or is this an actual child with such a maturely developed intellect that he can actually make such assessments of the abstract world with total autonomy?
Which is really the heart of the matter. At age 14, children are still developing their adult identities. They try on new personalities more often than they do outfits or musical tastes. Is a 14 (8 when he supposedly began) year old's identification as a "Republican conservative" valid at that age? Would it be any more valid if he declared himself to be a "liberal socialist?" Is any absolute declaration of identity at age 14 valid?
I don't want to marginalize anyone, regardless of age, but how seriously should a 14 year old be taken on matters of national and international politics? He has said nothing that is not merely parroted official party line. To listen to him is like listening to a very well-written book report on the Fox News Chanel. There is nothing original here, nothing showing any independant thought. From the dismissal of the stimulus packages, to the disdain for taxation, to the doubt about Obama's birth certificate, it's all just official right-wing GOP talking points.
He's got talent as a speaker, that's not to be denied. He has definite potential as a writer, absolutely. But when all is said and done, he is just distilling "Fox and Friends." There is nothing here that would make me take him seriously as a source of political thought.
He is not so much a "pundit" (as he self-describes) as he is a muppet allowing the GOP to speak through him, which makes me definitely lean towards thinking that he is just being used by the Republicans in a desperate attempt to catch the public eye. And that? That verges on child abuse.