Politics and Parents

Lately, a certain government policy has been the topic of much heated debate in Hong Kong.  Concurrently, my mom’s birthday is fast approaching.  It suddenly dawned on me that moms and government actually have a lot in common.  Note: I am not trying to make any references to nanny governments.

With my limited knowledge of politics, it would seem that no matter the nature of any particular government policy, one of its keys to popularity is perception - we like policies that have effects we can understand and appreciate immediately.  Upon reflection, very similar forces come into play when a mother tells a child not to sleep so late at night, or to let his younger brother have the toy that he wanted. 

From a certain perspective, the mother’s requests are probably good for the child in the long run – sleeping earlier might lead to a healthier lifestyle; letting your brother have a toy might teach kindness – but this certainly will not make sense to her child at the time.  Without any immediately perceivable health or social risks, a child might think these teachings irrelevant, and will oftentimes rebel.  Occasionally, the child may even be right to rebel as times and values are changing, and the child’s needs might actually be different than the parents’ when they were the same age. 

One thing’s for certain though - good parents (like good governments?) always want the best for their children.  And even (on those rare occasions) when mom and dad are wrong, they will ultimately change their minds so that they can make things right.  Would you do the same for them?

In conclusion, happy birthday mom!  Though I may sometimes protest, please trust that it’s all love in the end.

-JWo