This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
On Election Day, two of my children came home scared that President Barack Obama would either start World War III or enslave white people. They had been told by various schoolmates that the president is evil, a pig, etc.
For the sake of my little kids, who have big ears, I'm repeating what I told them (and I hope other parents will, too). Though I disagree with some of his ideas, President Obama is a good, smart father and husband who wants to help people in the ways he believes are right. He is not wicked and he is not all-powerful.
Even though my candidate didn't win, my family's job is the same: to keep working, budgeting, saving, making good decisions and being respectful of others.
I want my kids to feel safe and hopeful. Making disparaging, accusatory, fearful remarks about the president — or those who elected him — doesn't help them.
Cissy Rasmussen
Orem