joshua j. whitfield, writing in <u+201c> why i took my daughter to an art museum after the election ,<u+201d> nov. 16 in the dallas morning news: we walked among art, spanish mostly, mir<u+00f3>, picasso, dal<u+00ed>, others. we wondered, we imagined, we talked about what is, what might be, what could be<u+2014>about the art, that is. we shared favorites, asked questions, giggled at the nudes, wondered what on earth a few things were. . . . i think it was a good thing to do, and i recommend it to you, to my fellow parents wondering what to say to your children. the danger is that we use our children to assuage our angst, recycling our anger through them, seeking in them the validation of our fears or the vindication of our bitterness. we forget that our children are not us, and so we foist upon them opinions and fears for which they<u+2019>re unready, ruining their purposeful innocence with our foolish seriousness<u+2014>lecturing, sentimentalizing, manipulating. sometimes when talking to our children, we talk too much. we try to make the world right with words when we know we can<u+2019>t. which is why i chose art instead. it speaks better than me, teaches better. and it<u+2019>s why i think that instead of talking politics with your children, you should take them to experience beauty wherever you may find it<u+2014>your nearest art museum, your nearest artist.
notable & quotable: post-election picasso - wsj
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