Eliasoph's emphasis on democratic conversation that takes place at playgrounds, library story-times, and childcare facilities makes me wonder if the same sorts of conversations are possible for those Americans who do not have children, for those who do not interact in these sort of arenas (such as non-custodial parents, or families who have nannies to pick their children up from school), and for those who are yet to have children or (on the opposite end of the age spectrum) whose children are fully grown. While I realize that Eliasoph says much of civic life happens in these arenas, and not all of it, I still think that if her conclusions about democratic/political conversations are true, we need another investigation for arenas available to Americans outside claim a child-rearing identity. Is an interest in the civic life of your children a significant advantage in your level of political participation--whether on a national or local level?
Or is it perhaps that Eliasoph's conclusions can be extrapolated, so that when she's talking about these arenas and mind-sets, she's really talking about a forward-looking mentality--for posterity? If this is the case, then having children of your own would not be necessary to reap the benefits of these interpersonal associations. Rather, one would only have to care about future generations--and the morality of that future--and discuss the direction of our country and/or its government in an everyday fashion. Even if this is so, the main question on which Eliasoph focuses, namely where are there places citizens can develop their citizenship, remains problematic for these people, who cannot take advantage of these specific child-oriented arenas like their child-rearing counterparts.
Citizen Competence in American Democracy
I do think there is still hope for people wihtout children to find arenas in which they can debate about politics. One of the draws that bring parents togehter is that they have a common interest, namely the raising of their children. As we discussed in class, parents may have so much invested in their children that they are likely to become more publicly engaged in order to secure the safety of their children. Although people without children do not have this same investement, they may have another interest that is as equivalently as important to them as a child's well being is to a parent. Most of the time, people who choose not to have kids, do so for a reason. They will likely spend the majority of their time in other clubs, group sports, or animal training classes for example. These are the arenas in which people without children will enter into political discourse.
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