Bradley told me today that one of his friends told him that Barack Obama wants to kill babies in their mommies' tummies. I am sick to my stomach over this. When did partisanship in this country get so far out of control that our children are being painted a picture of a monster in the White House? This is beyond disturbing to me. This man is going to be the President. What are we teaching our kids? I personally want mine to grow up respecting the office and respecting its inhabitant, no matter which side of the aisle he comes from.

He also picked up somewhere that President-elect Obama plans to change the Constitution. While I don't think he really understands what that means, he's sure it's bad and he's practically obsessing over it. It's been a great opportunity to teach checks and balances in the government, but I'm bothered that he's so disturbed about the man getting ready to take office. I asked in my elections class today how many of them thought it would be fun to be President. Not one of them said they would want the job. That blew my mind. When I was a kid, we all wanted to be President some day. What has happened?

It's time to take a breath and give the guy a chance. Yes, I'm frightened by some of the things that I think he plans to do if he lives up to his campaign promises. And I don't agree with him on abortion. But I hadn't planned on introducing Bradley to that topic this early in his life. I'm shocked and alarmed at how many people seem to have no problem preaching hate to their kids. It doesn't seem that far removed to me from Palestinians teaching their children to despise Jews. To be a Republican is to hate Democrats, and vice versa. This is not healthy for our country, and certainly not for our kids.

Elections have consequences. Our nation has chosen a different direction. It's our duty to pray for the new administration and to do everything we can to mimic the life of Jesus. I don't remember him saying anything other than to honor the government. He was far more concerned with restoring sight to the blind and bringing hope to the poor and oppressed. Remember that pundits on our side were doing everything they could to paint the worst possible picture of Barack Obama in an attempt to win the election. Far from everything said about him is true. Let's wait and see what he actually does before we attempt to stone him.

I may sound like a hypocrite to some of you. Certainly my son has heard more than he should from his outspoken and highly opinionated mom. But the aftermath of this election has caused me to really take pause and consider the reaction of my Christian brothers and sisters. I'm having to backtrack and work especially hard now to teach Bradley that we respect the President simply because he is the man God has put on the job for now. It's an uphill climb.

Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them: "Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall." God help us if we raise a generation of children as partisan or more than the one we have now.