I recently had the honor of visiting the White House as the administration was amplifying the successes of the first 100 days of President Donald Trump’s term in office. While I was excited to have the chance to interview members of the administration for my podcast, the most valuable lesson didn’t come from those interactions.
I brought my daughter with me. She is nearly 16, and I suspect she will soon be more interested in what her friends are doing than in her mother. This was my chance to have a special trip with just her that I hoped she would remember positively for the rest of her life.
We arrived at the gate bright and early to begin our interviews. My daughter was whisked away for a White House tour. She came back glowing with excitement and, as she put it, her head was “filled with so much new information.”
My experience was different. I had the chance to catch up with some old friends who have been feverishly implementing the president’s agenda in Washington. They talked about the long hours that seemed to have no end in sight, and then, like clockwork, they all jumped right into gushing about their children. Each one had a child under 5.
Here were people in their dream jobs working out of the White House, but clearly, their true pride and joy was family. It’s not political, there are no sides. Whether you are red or blue, your children are likely always top of mind. It seems that the children of politicians and those working in politics should be exempt from the nasty rhetoric of the industry. But the ugliness of politics has crept into every part of our lives.
Two days after the trip, I woke up to a message from a friend. She had seen my post about our visit and was saddened to see nasty comments about my daughter. “Good morning! I just wanted to let you know that I have been praying for you, your family and your sweet kiddos. I am so sorry for the hate that is thrown at you. Thank you for being a voice that stands up for what is right. I saw some terrible comments on you and (your daughter’s) post and I just wanted you to know God has me praying for you all, and I will continue to do so.”
Seeing it from another mother’s perspective reminded me of how nasty people can be today.
I am used to being attacked. We expect it in the political world. Sadly, even hateful comments about our children have become so commonplace that sometimes we forget to stop to remind ourselves that this behavior is not normal.
There are Democrats out there whose ideas I really dislike. Their ideas are bad, not them personally, or at least, I can’t make that judgment based on a few social media posts. I try to remember that I don’t know what they are like as parents or friends.
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I’m aware that I won’t stop those attacks by writing this, but it gives you insights into what both sides experience. Maybe for some, it is a reminder that the person you are attacking could be a mother or a father. Their children may be reading the ugly things you say about them. Think about how you appear to the next generation when you attack their parents. The nasty rhetoric you use to attack their parents or the children themselves is how these children will perceive the folks across the aisle.
The scary part is that I’m not wondering how we got to the point of attacking a 15-year-old girl. I’m wondering why we have decided to accept it.
Tudor Dixon is a former Republican gubernatorial nominee, executive in Michigan’s steel industry, breast cancer survivor, and working mother of four girls. She is the host of The Tudor Dixon Podcast.