But you have to have hope. You have to be optimistic in order to continue to move forward.
—John Lewis
Alot has happened in your life. It’s rightly made you cynical about some things, be it politics, relationships, or other people. A lot has happened in history too, and anyone who has ever read a book will have trouble shaking the fact that a lot of lies have been told, a lot of horrible rigging of the system has happened, and a lot of that contributes to the mess we’re in now.
But guess what? You have kids now and you don’t get to be a cynical, angry person anymore. Because you’re responsible for the raising of the next generation.
It is imperative that we give our children hope. That we explain the world to our kids in a way that empowers them with agency, that shows them progress is (and has been) possible. That as awful as things are, as the poet Maggie Smith says, the world still has good bones. Like a good real-estate agent, she tells us, we have to convince our kids that they could turn this into something beautiful. You have to show them that they can make a difference, then equip them with the skills, the resources, and the responsibility to do so.
You have to teach them that no one and nothing is irredeemable.