Memoirs of a Congressman's Daughter

When an individual runs for public office, they expect to be slandered. Their opponent will attack their character, and expose even the tiniest skeleton. Though a candidate understands these conditions, they place an unusual burden on their children. Such kids grow up in a public sphere that is fixated on scandal; any political mistake made by their parents is exploited to the fullest extent possible. These kids must also be naturally distrustful to determine which of their friends are genuine. Finally, their life is held to a higher standard. Even the slightest error brings unwarranted attention, and automatically reflects negatively on their parent. Furthermore, the inability to make a mistake restricts a child’s ability to grow, given that the most important life lessons are often learned through trial and error.
For those of us on the outside, we often overlook these casualties of our political system. While our job is to scrutinize our representative’s decisions, personal attacks cause more harm then we might realize. When we lambast someone like Bristol Palin, we prevent them from reaching their full potential for growth. So the next time someone’s child makes a mistake, just remember the tight rope they live on.