Making It In America

Malia and Sasha Obama have just been entered into the arena of public opinion.  For the next four to eight years, everything they say or do will be reported to you by those who feel you have a right to know.  As they go through the awkward stages of a young girl’s life, somebody will be certain to tell the entire world.  Being ten and seven, right now most of it will blow over their little girl heads.  But before this is over they could, potentially have gone through a great deal of their teenage years.  I hope that they do not have to read about themselves as the Bush girls, Chelsea Clinton and Amy Carter did.

I know the girls have to be brimming with excitement as the date of their father’s presidential inauguration nears.  They will be photographed and written about as they attend the different events, as they should be.  After all, this is an event that is a part of our country’s history and they are a part of events.  After the close of the inauguration, they will go home to the White House.  At times they will be involved in public events.  I will enjoy reading about them.  Again, they are meant for the public.

But, when they go to school, it is not the business of the public to know who their friends are, how they adjust, what they do well and where they struggle.  If they have a fight with a friend, as children tend to do, give them the chance to patch it up as children should.  It is not fodder for the news because it is their private life.  Our country has decided that, if a person puts himself in a public forum, everything he does is fair game.  Maybe that is true for the father, but the girls didn’t run for office and common decency says they ought to be able to grow up with a little privacy!

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