In the Beginning...

...there were no idiots. All living humans got along just fine. They worked together, helped raise each other's children, and supported each other in the face of an unforgiving world. Kumbaya.

And then, one day, along came The Idiot. He seemed normal at first. He was articulate, because many idiots are. He was charming, because many idiots get by on their charm. But most of all, he appeared to be the opposite of what he was. He appeared to be intelligent.

And then he decided to breed.

Soon, his progeny appeared. And they grew up, articulate, charming, and deceptively intelligent. They, too, bred. Today, the world is overrun with The Idiot's descendants.

The Idiot is what you make of him. He may be someone of a different faith, a different political party, a different value system. Everyone knows an idiot, but no two people know the same one.

Most idiots are tolerable. They bumble about, believing what they believe, saying what they say, but for the most part leaving you alone. When they don't leave you alone, a simple rebuff - polite or otherwise - is usually all you need. It's all you need because you're an adult.

But what about your kids?

That's where this blog comes in. This blog is about how to help your child when he or she isn't left alone. How do you raise your child in such a way that he or she can politely listen to an idiot, pay attention to what the idiot says, and still avoid falling under the idiot's spell?

This project was inspired by my daughter, who turned one year old this week. Is it possible, I wondered, to raise her in such a way that she listens to others with whom she disagrees and still holds true to what her mother and I teach her? And if it is possible, how do I do it?

Over the coming months, and perhaps years, I hope to find out. I've started contacting parents of various faiths, politics, sexual orientations, and marital statuses for insight into how they are raising their children and how they themselves were raised. All of these parents are accomplished, intelligent individuals who have managed to immerse themselves in the idiocy around them and still keep intact a moral code that guides them through their lives.

As I talk with these parents, I'll try to share their best tips here. And if you have any tips you'd like to offer, please feel free to share them. My other goal is the creation of an intelligent dialogue among people who may not always agree on life's trivialities but who can find common ground in raising the moral, courteous, and intelligent men and women the world will need between this century and the next.