Lead on my son

As we march through our lives experiencing the roles of child, parent, grandparent we may forget that partnership and co leadership is possible between the generations to make a world that works for all.

Fifty years ago a war was snuffing the lives of the young and assassins were killing voices of equality, Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy. Bullets and bombs.

In the face of the loss of friends the children of 1968 stood up to hate and violence with hope. The children of 2018 stand up for their survival as historic violence takes the lives of their friends, brothers and sisters. There is hope, and as in 1968 there is resistance to the end of violence. And the resistance is based on white fear – then and now. The white fear of communism and the white fear of “losing” status and stuff.

I have friends who say kids who can’t vote have no right to tell adults what to do. But they do – especially when lives depend upon it. I stand for partnership between the young and old and the people who want to own guns and those who will not tolerate bullets in any more young bodies. The young have the right to live in 2018 and 1968.

People are masters of empowering violence and division. Traditional and social media are packed with opinion, positions and mockery. Solutions, connectivity, trust and forgiveness are not present.

As I listened to a graduation speaker speak the truth that children’s lives matter and watched as MAGA booed him, I realized that the teams the red hats and the pink hats have become more important than life. Black hats. White hats. Nothing in between. No respect for either.

I hope that Americans start taking a broader view and working toward the well being of all of us. I want my son to live on, flourish and to lead, and I want the same for your children. I want to see the creative spirit of America grow again. Let’s find peace between us and create the future. Let’s flourish instead of fight.