Two words. Historic. Election. In a stunning upset of what polls and pundits claimed to be a Clinton cincher, Donald Trump won the 2016 Presidential Election with a combined 279 electoral votes. While the significant majority of the country clearly supported him and his vision, there is a section of the American people who is severely disillusioned with the hate speech that has riddled this election season, hate towards veterans, who should be honored each single day for their invaluable sacrifices to protect the freedoms of our great nation, LGBTQ groups, women, along with other significant minorities. Hate is not the answer, ladies and gentlemen, it never was and it never will be, so it is absolutely time that he leverages unifying language.
Everyone wants to win, either a school race or the race to earn the highest political office in the greatest nation in the world, but I want to caution you to explain to your children that winning is not enough, but winning with integrity, honor, and morality intact is what is critically important, because winning with a compromised morality is losing. Explain to your children that you should seek to win on a high ground, not low ground, that it is more important to win with class than to win without any trace of class. In a world where morality seems to be more and more scarce, an adult with strong beliefs, morality, and grace stands out as a true global citizen, and one more should look to emulate. Once a society has lost its moral compass, we have lost all traces of hope, so let us vow to never reach that point of no return.
Explain to your children that if they are entrusted with a platform to create change that they should leverage that platform to achieve good, not propagate a greater level of chaos, misogyny, and drive deeper divides. Explain to your children that unity, goodness, and above all, love trumps hate, and always will. Explain to your children that taking the higher ground is always worth the risk, even if they do not classically 'win' the race, game, or election, because the mental satisfaction of being a moral person who does the right thing ultimately outweighs the joy of winning at all costs, which has far more serious long-term consequences.
Millennial lifestyle expert and radio/television personality Vonny Sweetland believes that it is "extremely important to use your platform for something positive if you are so fortunate enough to have one." "When thousands of people follow you and your work, you are doing a disservice to them and yourself if you do not allow yourself to become a vehicle for great change in people's lives." Explain to your children to consistently leverage their platforms, no matter how small or how large, for social good, because preserving goodness is important, practicing morality is important, and above all, being a great human being is incredibly important.
Explain to your children that today, more so than ever before, it is important that we live in line with the values which define us, the values of love for all, compassion, unity, empathy, and a deep appreciation of diversity. Explain to your children that differences do not divide us, but instead, bind us together in a sheer mosaic of our shared cultural history. Explain to your children that our future relies on their morality, judgment, empathy, and belief in the shared progress of our nation. Explain to your children that the time to act to create an equal nation and a more equal world begins with them and that they should start now.