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I recently read an informative article by NPR's Amy Held that provides advice for talking to children who may be stressed about the presidential election results. Held features an interview with a 37-year-old father who voted for President-elect Donald Trump, but his two older children, 11 and 13, had apprehensive feelings about Trump's victory. The father pointed to social media as the cause for his kids' anxiety. Held's story also includes links to data from the American Psychological Association and September polling statistics from the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University.

Some telling results from the SNF Agora survey were that before the election, almost half of U.S. voters in their 2,000-person sample believed that members of the political party they opposed were "downright evil," and many respondents were worried that the losing party would not accept the outcome of the election. The latter is probably not as much of a concern now, as President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have assured a peaceful transfer of power to Trump, and Trump thanked Biden for this cordial transition at a recent White House meeting. The brief, amicable photo-ops between Trump and Biden, however, are most likely doing little to ease the worries of those who were already extremely stressed before the outcome of the 2024 race.

The APA published a report in October titled "Stress in America 2024: A nation in political turmoil." This study found that the future of our country, the economy and the then-upcoming election were the top three issues of concern listed among 2,460 respondents who participated in a Harris poll. Other major stressors included health care, violence and crime, the environment and global tension/conflict. The study stated that our nation was in "the grip of existential stress" and that our "strained political climate" adversely affected family relationships. Thus, it is no surprise that many children are also stressed, as they are especially sensitive to feeling the burdens of their parents and other close relatives.

As I was reading through Held's article, I thought about how our "political climate" still allowed us to respectfully share our differences of opinion back in the early 1980s, even though there was a strong conversative shift during the years of Ronald Reagan's presidency. One of the popular television sitcoms that depicted this was "Family Ties," which featured Michael J. Fox playing the teen Republican Alex P. Keaton, whose political views humorously clashed with his liberal parents, Elyse and Steven. In a Thanksgiving episode, Alex disapproves of Elyse and Steven going out to protest against nuclear arms. When Alex looks at the signs his father retrieves from supporting George McGovern's run for president in 1972, he quips, "You guys really knew how to pick the winners, didn't you?" His younger sister Jennifer then wittingly snaps back that Alex has a comparable losing streak in failing to predict the winning football teams during the Thanksgiving holidays. Another similar example of political cordialness is the "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" episode "For Sale by Owner." In this episode a young Donald Trump guest stars as himself to purchase a home in the upscale Los Angeles Bel-Air neighborhood. The "Fresh Prince" featured the wealthy African American family of the Bankses, and the son Carlton, played by Alfonso Ribeiro, was comparable to Alex in terms of his conservative leanings. When Trump walks into the Bankses' mansion, Carlton, overwhelmed and starstruck, exclaims, "The Donald!" Carlton then faints and his father, Philip, throws him on the couch with a hint of annoyance. Given the political tension we are witnessing now, the affable comedy we saw in these shows among family members is embedded in a distant past.

Sadly, children today rarely see sensible political compromise and civic discussion, and much of what they are exposed to on social media platforms is toxic. I'm sure many kids ask their parents why people are so mean and nasty toward one another. I'm reminded of the simplicity of The Golden Rule, which is actually Luke 6:31. The Amplified version of this verse says, "Treat others the same way you want them to treat you." This is what I was taught growing up, but unfortunately narcissism and selfishness heavily abound in our culture, not just in politics but in other public sectors. It's very difficult for people to treat each other with the God-like love and respect that Christ commanded in Luke, but we need to exemplify mercy, grace and compassion in our daily interactions. Children are watching, and this would be a powerful example for them to emulate.

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Dr. Jessica A. Johnson is a lecturer in the English department at Ohio State University's Lima campus. Email her at smojc.jj@gmail.com. Follow her on X: @JjSmojc. To find out more about Jessica Johnson and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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