Our Hypocrisy

Let us not forget that our children hear everything we say.  Whether they are "typical" or "special needs", they hear our words and feel our tone.  They look to us to guide them into a very big and very scary world.  They look to us to teach them right from wrong and to show us how to treat one another.

Let us not forget that our children watch every move we make.  Whether they are "typical" or "special needs", they watch our body language and they feel our vibes.  They look to us on how to make peace in a world that continues to offer little comfort.  They look to us to teach them that strength of character is what heroes are made of.  Instead...we give them this:

 
We tell them that human life is important, and yet we accept that human trafficking is thriving in the US.  We accept that opioid addiction is crushing people in every community.  We accept that veterans are killing themselves every single day.  We accept that our teachers are forced to spend their own money on supplies.  We accept that mental heath care is failing miserably.  We accept that millions of people live without insurance, health care, and the medication that they desperately need.  We accept that millions of people in our country do not have adequate food.  We accept that our actions are contributing to the death of our own planet.

Instead, our children watch us destroy one another.  They watch us as we mock one another. They hear us call each other demeaning names.  They watch our elected leaders act like petulant children.  They watch the bullying and shaming on Twitter.  They play video games depicting first-person-shooter scenarios beyond their emotional capabilities.  They are inundated with conflict, and more conflict, and still more conflict.  Respect is an afterthought.  Kindness and humility are treated as weaknesses.  Authority is questioned and cut down.

And then we look them in the eye and tell them to "do the right thing".