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Growing
Pains
June
2, 2001
by Kurt Kurowski
As a teenager, and like most teens, I tried to get away with
" funny business " as I pushed the limits put on me as a child
in an effort to find my own way as an adult.
Each time that I encountered one of the many compromising
situations teens are presented with I thought of how it would
affect my parents and proceeded, or not, with that as my guideline.
Neither of my parents were president of anything, let alone
the United States. But I still knew what would cause them
heartache.
Certainly, fair-minded psychologists would be able to give
reasons why the young adult children of the world's most high-profile
individual, President G.W. Bush, would continue acting-out
in such a persistently belligerent way as regards the law
and alcohol.
And I agree that the Bush children should be given some leeway.
I hope, as we all should, that they find more sure-footedness
in a situation that few teens will ever face.
But in the same way that presidents are judged by certain
standards, such as was the case with President Clinton, this
situation is being judged in a league outside of the "average"
family.
The standards for a president, such as those of experience,
command of facts, and the ability to communicate have been
lowered for Mr. Bush in what amounts to a "special privilege
." Perhaps it is time for this to end.
We can at least hold him to the same standards he intones
for America when his recent and simplistic prescription for
our social ills is that parents "teach right from wrong."
This, like his mantra calling for bi-partisanship seem indicative
of parenting's most wrong-headed and least effective phrases,
" Do as I say, not as I do."
If Bush should choose to patronize Americans less, Americans
will be less inclined to point out his inconsistencies, and
will then give his private matters the respect they deserve.
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