Politically P-R-E-Y-I-N-G on kids

In a perfect world, we could leave families, especially kids, out of politics. But that feat is about as possible as separating religion and politics. In other words, it won't happen during this presidential campaign.

Gov. Sarah Palin, the GOP nominee for second-in-command is in the inexplicable position of trying to keep her new, young, exciting, innocent, and targetable family out of the campaign. We hardly know the candidate, and we may not. After announcing that her 17-year old daughter is five months pregnant, that has become the story.

Being a teen mother to be is not a new American phenomenon. It happens everyday. But it doesn't happen to families running for the highest office of this country. It normally happens to poor minority girls who allow us to learn of their plight on the exploitive televison shows like The Jerry Springer Show, The Montel Williams Show, or The Maury Pouvich Show. We make fun of them. We label the teen moms losers, call the parents of the teens unfit, and the teen fathers to be, we call them"baby-daddies."

However, when this happens to the daughter of a history making, vice-presidential nominee, we call her just what she is, a young person who made a mistake. And we call the young father to be, a fianance or boyfriend. We even invite him to be on the national stage in front of 40 million TV viewers. Yet, we say we want to protect these kids from the public scrutiny. No we don't. And, no we can't.

It doesn't help that the history-making mother has been a staunch opponent of sex education in public school. It is obvious she was also against sex education in the home. The abstinence only policy only works when the parents are in the same room as the hormonally excited teens.

At this point, we don't know which ticket will make it to the White House. Should the Republicans succeed, good luck. We know that there is no sex education taught there. Actually, one former president took it upon himself to teach safe sex to a young, albeit adult woman. Should the Democrats win, the Palin family will definately be offered their own reality show.

Bristol Palin may replace Brittany Spears as the next young person to be publicly destroyed. And we will watch it like we would watch a National Geographic documentary on predators. And her self-proclaimed redneck boyfriend, Levi Johnson could become the second most famous redneck since Jeff Foxworthy.

America is a praying country. However, too often when it comes to our youth, we spell it P-R-E-Y-I-N-G.