Election Day is just a week away, but elections and politics are weighing heavily on longtime SMU senior Anna Kelly Zilke’s mind.
“I got really interested in political polarization after I went on a prestigious trip abroad and met people and had some really great intellectual and political conversations,” Zielke said. “There are so many benefits you can get from interacting with people you don’t agree with, so I wanted to share that with others.”
So Zielke, a dance performance and political science double major, conducted focus group research.
“People were talking about how political conversations have destroyed family relationships. I’ve had some people talk about how they don’t talk about certain aspects of their families or friendships that they no longer talk about. , and talked about the cost,” Zilke said. “I think we have really thought about the cost of the destruction of relationships that our divisive political environment has caused.”
She decided to write a children’s book to bridge the political gap. Instead of Republicans and Democrats fighting each other, her book features cats and dogs fighting over a monster called “Malarkey.”
“I don’t necessarily have the experience of knowing what it feels like to not be in this really stressful environment, but I do have personal experience of getting through that environment with someone. Yes, we are.’ How do we as a society get through this?’” Zielke said.
Zielke thought children’s books were a good way to teach those lessons across generations.
“I think the great part of this story is that they realize that they appreciate each other and their friendship, and they start to break down those walls,” Zielke said, adding that her characters Max the dog and the cat Ella explained how she found it. Their way back to friendship. “I think it’s about teaching our young children that the ability to interact with people you disagree with and work through some conflicts is an important life skill.”
That’s a good lesson at any age.
“There were 330 million people living in this country, and they were all very different from each other,” Zielke said. “That’s beautiful!”
Zielke and fellow SMU student illustrator Anastasiya Shyvilka are working on the final edits of the yet-to-be-titled book. They want to find a publisher and get it on bookshelves right away.
