The Political Divide

Forget tax cuts and abortion. Would you let your toddler pee in the paint pots at school? If so, Eleanor Hammer says you're probably a liberal:

In fact, the school was in danger of splitting into two factions: the liberals and the conservatives. Naturally I expected to be part of the liberal group. But the actual breaking up came from an unexpected issue: Should the boys be restrained from peeing in the paint pots?

The conservatives were outraged that the behavior in question had happened at all, and that allowing it was even under discussion. The liberals answered that it didn't hurt the paint, and that in any event the little boys would outgrow such behavior. Eventually.

At a parents meeting called to decide the issue, inside my head I could hear the voice of my mother: Little boys are doing what? And you are allowing it?