Let our children play, not parade in front of dignitaries
by
KLAUS JURGENS

What I refer to is the rather questionable practice of including minors in all forms of public gatherings, ranging from simple party political rallies to large-scale national public events. Whereas on the occasion of the former category of activities we see parents proudly displaying their children sitting on their shoulders with a plastic flag depicting this or that political party logo, during the latter category of events we see various groups of often more than 100 children who are asked to perform songs or dance routines for the pleasure of an the audience. Funnily enough, it is never the actual parents of the children who are allowed to fill the seats but complete strangers such as politicians or other supposedly influential members of society!

Please take this contribution as a generic observation in the sense of that I wish to focus on an issue which occurs in not one but many countries. I am not putting the blame on the organizers of any particular ceremony or event but fully believe in the fact that what may have become a habit by means of misunderstood conventions can over time be reversed -- at least I think so.

Audience congratulates itself

What greatly surprises me is that in most instances those who occupy the above-mentioned seats reserved for the purposes of hosting protocol or VIP are well beyond child-bearing or child-rearing age and could easily double as the grandparents of those youngsters performing in front of them. The scene reminds me of those opera goers who continue to applaud well after the final curtain comes down -- in all likelihood engaging more in celebrating themselves and their apparent “good taste,” instead of paying respect to the actual performers on stage.

The use of children below voting age for the purpose of politics is not confined to a particular nation or political system. Have we not all shaken our heads in disbelief when a politician greets a crowd and then walks to a group of bystanders, lifts a toddler and smiles into the camera, whether stateside or in Europe? The younger our leading politicians are the less of this unsightly occurrence we shall witness, but it may remain a feature of most election campaigns in all too many countries for years to come.

If incidents like this could still be filed under “politically incorrect yet inflicting no harm,” other carefully staged inclusions of underage participants in events of a political or historical nature are much more questionable.

This is where less of a political party’s manifesto (or freebies distributed at each and every rally) come into play than the wider approach towards a country’s history, and, of course, its future as a civic society.

Children should not parade infront of politicians or TV cameras

The more advanced in age a country’s leadership has become the more difficult it is to stay in touch with that same nation’s young population. This is a fact of life in most democracies and although many policies are targeted at families with children, it is not before near-adulthood that future voters realize the relevance of educational or social policies for their very own well-being. Most teenagers would not really care about their region’s or country’s political leaders -- teenagers listen to music, play sports and hang out with their peers regardless of where they grow up. Once they are 15 or 16 years old all this may change as topics such as the protection of the environment, and come the magic day (i.e., their 18th birthday), whether a late night public bus service is laid on for the Saturday early evening disco or not, will all of a sudden reveal a link to, and awaken interest in, local or perhaps even national politics.

Having written this comment I must admit I do sympathize with our democratically elected leaders with regards to their wish to stay in touch with future voters from as early an age as feasibly possible. This, however, does not give our leaders a blank check to ask that very same young and “politically innocent” generation to perform during manifestations of a political nature, including a nation’s foundation day parades. The reasoning behind my argument is this: In most cases they are simply too young to be able to have made up their mind about whether they actually want to participate in a particular event or rather not. Hence, their parents have decided for them.

The role of you and me and as parents

Assuming that in fully fledged civil societies the initial role to introduce a newborn baby to the world -- to its sounds, its smells, its flowers and nature -- and to teach and educate her or him is vested in the inner nucleus network which translates into the family, until that same child reaches schooling age (for example, 5 years of age in the UK or 7 years in Turkey) parents should not discard that responsibility all that quickly.

No political party, no association or history club can ask children to participate in a parade or large-scale public event unless the parents have agreed with that proposition. Even if school-children are asked by their teachers to attend and participate in such an event the parents must in all cases be asked well beforehand whether they will allow their offspring to join in or not.

We should not put any blame on the teachers themselves, who in many countries very often have reached an age similar to those of the VIP guests that I mentioned earlier; change is not necessarily a concept they fully understand or embrace. A strong parents’ lobby would make certain that standards of education improve in line with a modern society’s demands -- hence, I am afraid, the ball rests firmly in the court of you and me -- both as members of a country’s electorate and in our role as parents.

I had the great pleasure of attending national day celebrations in Belgium, watched Bastille Day in France and more solemn remembrance services for the fallen of World War I and II in the UK. I do of course intensely follow comparable events here in Turkey, too, and my article would be incomplete if I did not, in all fairness, comment upon related events in this fascinating nation.

What makes me wonder most in this regard is the sheer number of children performing in football stadiums or other venues upon the occasion of large-scale public events of a historical or political nature. If we then add a certain military dimension (please do not get me wrong -- even a small but equally proud nation such as Belgium has fighter jets flying over the Royal Palace of Brussels on their national day, and rightfully so) participants in any form of these politically or historically inspired and publicly organized and/or hosted parades or shows should be above the age of “political consent,” i.e., 18 years old.

I hope that my considerations are not misinterpreted in the sense of that I am asking to prevent under-age participants from engaging in “public” sports events -- of course not! My only concern are events with a clearly visible political and/or political-historical dimension, not the 10th anniversary of the youth section of our local soccer club and its fun parade passing through five neighborhood streets when older children throw wrapped candy at bystanders in the crowd.

Trying to answer my initial question

Let me end this piece by attempting to more profoundly answer my initial question, as writing this piece allowed me to consider the issue from a variety of angles. Would a child really wish to wave a flag, march in the middle of a boulevard or dance in front of an audience often much older than them upon the occasion of a political rally or national manifestation unless told so by his or her parents? Having extensively reflected upon my own role and responsibilities as a parent I would answer by saying, “Definitely!”