Focus on the message we want our children to hear from the election

Many days over the last few months, my carpool of 10- to 12-year-old kids had chattered about elections. They knew the issues, they watched the candidates, they weighed the pros and cons of each.

I listened, with interest. I was surprised at how much they knew — and how interested they were in getting the facts straight. They knew the issues, the arguments for and against each candidate, and weighed them carefully.

Mostly, I just listened, occasionally offering explanation, clarification, and sometimes pronunciation of words that were new to them.

Mark my words, kids are going to take what they learn from all this and run with it.

So, it’s my job to guide them how to do so gracefully. Luckily, my kids are young and still seem to value my opinion, at least some of the time. They still ask for input and are willing to follow my lead. My carpool is, however, a bubble, one filled with hope and reason, that offers me nothing but encouragement.

It’s the kids a half-tick older than mine that we might look to as the true litmus test of what messages can be derived from the election of Donald Trump to the position of president-elect. Those who have been guided by their parents, yet are at the stage of separating themselves.

In many ways, adolescents and teens share much with the United States after this election. We’ll be forming a new identity — one of a country that has chosen a leader who is new to politics. He’s brash and unafraid, willing to stand up to authority, do what “can’t be done.”

What a source of inspiration for a generation finding their own! Don’t let anyone tell you what you can, and can’t do. What you are, and are not suitable for. What you should, and should not believe. Rise up and stand for what you believe. If you can’t beat the establishment, become the establishment.

Isn’t this the message we want our children to hear? Of course it is!

But, that’s not the whole message. Context matters, and in this case, the context is the unorthodox personality of Trump. The insinuations. The cyber bullying, misogyny innuendos that appealed to David Duke,

I ran into a friend who is a staff member at a Blue Valley school. She and I have not talked politics, and she approached the subject delicately.

“I’m making an assumption that perhaps you were a wee bit disappointed by the election results?” she said in her ever-diplomatic fashion. I assured her that my candidate had not won.

She went on to tell me about an incident at her school. A student had gone up to a staff member, bright and early on Wednesday morning. The student was decked out in red, white and blue, and the staff member is openly supportive of gay students. The student a waved a flag in the staff member’s face. “I can’t wait to wave this flag in the face of all the (insert slur for gay people) here today!”

My friend was visibly shaken. “Emily, this was a student, doing this to an authority figure,” she exclaimed, obviously distraught.

She went on to tell me how the students were mobilizing. A peaceful rally in favor of women’s rights. An urgent message amongst staff to provide a safe place — that some students feel unsafe now. She informed me that during the rally, in another area, she heard snide comments about feminists, socialists, heckling the students with shouts of “make America great again.”

When I look beyond my beautiful little bubble, I see a people divided, and a typhoon of the hatred and intolerance are battering our country. Waves of unrest are crashing, and perhaps some of those will subside. But the ripples will remain. They’ve taken hold.

This story was originally published November 16, 2016 at 9:57 AM with the headline "Focus on the message we want our children to hear from the election."