It’s a bit disconcerting to have your 15 year old start conversations that are peppered with words like Communism and Socialism. Of course, with the election running full steam ahead, I suppose it would be difficult to NOT be talking politics.

My son is a black and white sort of guy (It’s a character flaw that we’re working on - together), so many of our conversations start out with him stating that something is wrong. He’s adamant that attack ads, lies, and false promises by our presidential candidates are just wrong. He visits factcheck.org and realclearpolitics daily, and shares with me his opinions. It’s been interesting to hear his take on right, wrong, and unfair. Daily, he plops onto my bed to talk to me while I’m working (trying, anyway).

• Where does the money come from for these buy-outs?
• What exactly is the vice president’s job?
• How does the Senate work?

With these questions we’re able to start a dialog that ultimately leads to learning, often for both of us. We’ll pull up web pages, dig out books, and discuss our thoughts. It’s been really interesting to see how caught up he is in this election and how he is seeking the facts he needs to make an informed decision - even though he’s far from voting age. He is designing his own education, daily, digging what he needs out of the heaps and heaps of information out there.

So, what about Communism and Socialism? How does that fit into the picture?

One of the books he’s recently read is in my sidebar. Are You Liberal, Conservative, or Confused is a very interesting look at political labels and the original American philosophy. I highly recommend this, as well as the other books by Uncle Eric, which make American government and economics accessible and understandable to the average person.