Last week in New York, former City Councilor Eva S. Moskowitz did something terrible at the 22 private schools she now runs in four of the five boroughs. She did not beat any children and she also did not set any youngsters on fire in a school-wide assembly. No, what Moskowitz did was far less violent but still outrageous.

In response to New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s decision to abandon plans for three new private schools under Moskowitz’s Success Academy banner, she cancelled all classes on March 4 and bussed students and parents to Albany, N.Y., to protest the move, according to New York Daily News.

Using kids as props in a political dispute or brainwashing them to believe in a certain ideology has become far too common today.

Want your children to follow a rigidly conservative ideology? Then read “Help! Mom! There Are Liberals Under My Bed!” by Katherine DeBrecht, to children when they are just beginning to walk and discover the world around them.

It’s deeply disturbing how hyper-polarized America is. If the kids whose parents read silly literature like that to them end up running the nation in 40 years, things will be even worse than they are at the present, and that would be a frightening sight to behold.

If you are a parent who is on the liberal side of the ideological spectrum, then “Why Mommy is a Democrat,” by Jeremy Zilber, is the picture book for all your Barrack Obama approved methods of parenting. Although it’s hard to believe, this is also a real book. I bet it was printed on environmentally friendly paper in a gun- free paper mill as well.

Like the book for conservative parents, people are also buying this piece of trash. Anyone who would purchase either of these books might be a little too insane to qualify as a parent in my book. It’s just not right.

Unfortunately, some kids have to deal with more over-the-top political activity in their childhoods. When one looks at some things that are out there, these two silly children’s books seem tame by comparison. I’m sorry if you need a drink after this.

In 2007, the Democratic Party selected a 12-year-old to give a weekly radio address on how the Children’s Health Insurance Program, or CHIP for short, benefitted him after he was involved in a car accident, according to Time.

I’d name the young man, but I don’t want to subject him to further criticism from those on the other side of the aisle who quickly attacked his story and questioned the authenticity of his claims.

In 2009 at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington D.C., a 13-year-old, Jonathan Krohn, was one of the featured speakers, according to an article from POLITICO. He even wrote a book titled “Defining Conservatism: The Principles That Will Bring Our Country Back.”

Maybe I had an unusual childhood. Maybe everyone is indoctrinated with certain political beliefs as they are growing up. If so, that has got to stop.

Parents need to stop using their kids as props for personal political agendas. Childhood should be spent having fun and watching cartoons, not protesting a negative business decision in the state capital.

-Evan Pretzer is a junior communication major from from Weyburn, Saskatchewan. He can be contacted at 335-2290 or by [email protected]. The opinions expressed in this column are not necessarily those of the staff of The Daily Evergreen or those of Student Publications.