WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE WE TEACHING OUR CHILDREN?

      My siblings and I were very blessed in that we grew up with parents that worked hard at teaching us right from wrong. We were taught to be honest, responsible, respectful, courteous and punctual. And these are qualities that I and my sisters and brother have carried over into adulthood. I'm proud of my siblings and the role models they have become for their children, grandchildren and future generations. I'm also proud of my two sons. My youngest son is a school teacher in Brooklyn helping to build a better future for the next generation by instilling in them the values we need to cultivate a brighter tomorrow. It's a cycle, what we teach our children today will be the foundation of what they teach their children tomorrow, and so forth. It troubles me greatly that so many of these characteristics are simply not being taught in today's crumbling world. This November's blog is about getting back to those basic principles and examining what we are teaching our children. 

     I mention my parents as great teachers, and they were, but one of the best lessons I learned in life was when I played little league baseball. Without failure, whether we won or lost, my coaches always taught us to accept defeat gracefully and congratulate the winner humbly. And at the end of each game, we did exactly that. We'd walk out onto the field and shake the opposing players hand and say, "Good game!" And I always assumed that position later in life no matter the game being played. I remember interviewing for a managerial job with some fellow co-workers almost two decades ago. I wasn't selected but gracefully congratulated my co-worker who was chosen. It just seemed natural based on how I was raised. Unfortunately, the world we live in has become vastly different from the one I grew up in as a child. 

     I was absolutely appalled in 2020 when Donald Trump denied the election results and not only refused to acknowledge the winner, but adamantly claimed his victory was stolen. It was the first time in American history that a presidential candidate refused to acknowledge the winner and not gracefully congratulate the opponent. I knew then this was an extremely dangerous precedent. We were now teaching future generations that if you lose, you scream "rigged!" and never admit to the real truth that you simply lost. He is still perpetuating that election lie today and plotting to repeat the lie if he loses again in 2024. What is that teaching our children? For the sake of your fragile ego, claim you're a winner no matter the cost? Personally, this is the definition of an ultimate loser, and a tragic example to set.

     Honestly, I was greatly dismayed, but not even remotely surprised, when Trump pulled this stunt. He was announcing months before the election that if he didn't win, the election would be stolen. He ego is way too fragile to even consider defeat. And words congratulating the winner is something that will never come out of his mouth. What will come out of his mouth are some of the most insulting and degrading comments imaginable. Unfortunately, Donald Trump did not have parents like mine. But as one of the leading, if not the leading, political figures on the planet, he is one of the most influential figures when it comes to teaching our children. 

     And those horrible lessons started early when the whole world got to hear Trump boast about assaulting women in the Access Hollywood tape. Can you imagine a presidential candidate bragging about grabbing women by the p*ssy and then expecting your son to hear this and be respectful of women? And just recently at a rally, Trump went on a twelve minute meandering monologue about the size of Arnold Palmer's genitals. At least in the Access Hollywood tape, you could argue that Trump was having a private conversation with another man and he didn't realize he was being recorded. But to have your opening pitch for your eligibility to be president at a rally be a deliberate dialog about another man's penis is unconscionable. It's as if our world is in a race to see how low we can go. 

     I saw a quote recently from a man on social media named Benjamin Cremer that really hit home with me. "When someone stands behind a microphone and dehumanizes entire groups of people and says the most despicable and fear-mongering rhetoric, that disturbs me. What disturbs me even more though is the crowd of people that hears these things and cheers." And this quote is the primary theme of this month's blog. There has always been rude, obnoxious and degrading individuals since man began populating the earth. This is absolutely nothing new. But what is new during the Trump era are the multitude of people that listen to his toxic and degrading rhetoric and applaud it as if were gospel. In the past, if someone spoke despicable language in public, you'd tell your child that is was vastly inappropriate and not to follow the example. But when you wildly cheer on this abhorrent behavior, you are telling your children not only is this acceptable, but encouraged. 

     And before those on the right scream, "What about the left!" I'm going to scream for you. I remember quite vividly the disgusting spectacle of the Monica Lewinsky scandal. The acting president of the United States caught engaging in oral sex with an intern half his age. What a great message for all of America? Yes, Bill Clinton was impeached, but I for one was disappointed that he wasn't thrown out of office. I believe the Clinton affair played a significant role in Trump winning the 2016 election. Many Americans were simply eager to move past the Clinton era scandals. We need better teachers for our children and better examples put before them. Unfortunately, Trump took despicable acts and scandals to a rock bottom that I'd never deemed possible. But the answer from the left hasn't been more compelling in many instances. There is a quote from Michele Obama that I absolutely adore, "When they go low, we go high!" Unfortunately, there are those on the left that have decided, "When they go low, we will too!" 

     There was an incident in Congress not long ago where Marjorie Taylor Greene was intentionally insulting the "fake eyelashes" of Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett. (And don't even get me started on how despicable and abhorrent Marjorie Taylor Greene's behavior is and what a horrible role model she has become for our younger generation.) But instead of Jasmine Crockett rising above the insult and being the better example for our children, she responded with a phrase that's gone viral, referring to Marjorie Taylor Greene as "Bleach blond bad built butch body." Crockett has made shirts with this slogan and is fundraising off of it. There was even a Los Angeles Times story from Anita Chabria praising Crockett's slogan as "brilliant." So much for "When they go low, we go high!" Jasmine Crockett is from my state of Texas. I think she's intelligent and has a very bright future, but I wish she hadn't chosen to combat Greene's childish behavior and insults with childish behavior and vicious insults of her own. Children and young adults are watching these politicians engaging in ridiculous cat fights and many are applauding this behavior as something to be emulated. It encourages this behavior in schools and leads to future bullying. 

     I happen to be a huge fan of Tim Walz. He reminds me to be the best version of myself. And he's a person I want to emulate in that he's kind, compassionate and caring. I think he'll make a great vice president. But I was very disappointed with some of his own dialog at a recent rally. He was pointing out the vast character flaws of Elon Musk, which in and of itself, I had no problem with. Musk is not someone I would ever want to emulate. He's greedy, arrogant and narcissistic. And he's actively supporting Trump's authoritarian regime. For Walz to call him out was not my issue. But Tim decided that he would better rile up the crowd if he'd call Elon Musk a "dipshit." These kind of comments are not helping anyone. I respect Tim as a teacher and a coach, but I really wish he hadn't gone down that road. Again, you're teaching students, "When they go low, we will too!" 

     And then just a week before the election, the dialog continued to take a tragic nose dive for the worse. At Donald Trump's rally at Madison Square Garden, guest speaker Tony Hinchcliffe called Puerto Rico a "floating island of garbage." And during the same rally, Blacks and Jews were ridiculed and disparaged. What a sad closing argument for a campaign. And did the left rise above these abhorrent comments? No! Joe Biden decided the best way to combat these offensive remarks was by responding with, "The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters." WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE WE TEACHING OUR CHILDREN? It certainly isn't decency and respect. I have many loved ones who are Trump supporters: family, friends and co-workers. I wouldn't dream of calling them "garbage." And we will never convince anyone to see our point of view if we are degrading and demeaning. When we discard others as not being human, we are destroying them, ourselves and all of humanity.     

     So, to me the issue isn't left versus right, it's right versus wrong. I don't care if you're a Democrat or a Republican. Regardless of your political affiliation., we can all choose to take the higher ground. We can all choose to respond to negativity with positivity. I'm not asking angry voters to be passive and complacent. There is nothing wrong with raising your voice and even shouting from the rooftops if necessary. I don't have an issue with someone calling a politician who throws truth to the ground a liar. I don't have an issue when someone calls out a campaign that is spewing Nazi propaganda and emulating Hitler, and labels them "fascist." Calling out the truth, I encourage. Perpetuating lies, I despise. And I absolutely frown upon using your voice, your power and your influence to deliberately degrade and demean anyone. You don't debunk lies by telling more lies. And you don't combat childish behavior by being ridiculously childish yourself. 

     I believe Martin Luther King, Jr. summed up this premise best with his famous quote, "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." If in our race to win, we must resort to completely ridiculing and demeaning others, we've already lost. And what we are teaching our children is "garbage." I absolutely believe our world will be significantly better off without Donald Trump back in power. I'm fearful of what our planet will look like if he does get back into power and how far our nation and civilization might fall. What are we teaching our children when a leading candidate for president is a convicted felon and adjudicated rapist and has made a name for himself by being a compulsive liar and by degrading people? But we cannot combat Trump's corrosive and abhorrent behavior by trying to match it in response. 

     There is a famous saying, "Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me." So, although this blog has pointed out some of the awful and corrosive dialog of Donald Trump, Joe Biden and other influential leaders, I myself can be a better teacher, role model and example for our youth and future generations. Before I started this blog, I had to admit to myself that even some of my own social media posts were less than positive and sometimes corrosive. I went through my posts and deleted over fifty that I felt had crossed a line from being uplifting to falling into the category of inflammatory, and even childish. We shouldn't post insulting and inflammatory comments on social media for the sake of likes and follows. I too must be a better person. I can have my political opinions and rally for my particular candidates of choice, plus rally for a brighter future for myself, my family and future generations. But to do so, I must start with being a brighter, better and more positive example myself. So, let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me. In closing, I want to end with a quote from my oldest sister, "At our essence we are all connected, which is something many of us have forgotten. Ultimately, what happens to one, impacts us all. Regardless of the outcome of this election, I pray that collectively we will not lose our humanity, conscience and basic regard for our fellow humans."

Thank you for reading my post!