Rep. John Lewis reminds us all, “When we see something that's not right, not fair, or not just, we have a moral obligation to speak up and speak out to do something about it.” He has lived by this maxim, and he almost lost his life practicing what he so eloquently preaches.
A couple nights ago, I was about to go to sleep and I came across a video of Rep. Lewis and I remembered this saying. So I got my laptop out and sent out an email to a company that had put on a show that put on a horribly offensive juggling act.
There was moment when I thought I would simply get around to sending this email, but it left my mind until Rep. Lewis and his words came into the front of my consciousness.
This “moral obligation,” is very difficult, and asks so much out of us as citizens. There is so much that is not right that is not fair that is not just in our society. Racism, sexism, antisemitism, white supremacy are present in almost every industry, almost every hobby, and almost every American past time. It can feel like a lot to do, and it can feel all-encompassing, but that’s the charge, and that’s responsibility. We may fail times but we have to try.
One of the reasons I felt that I could not let that email go was because my whole family went to that show, and it hurt me deep inside when Ollie said that one of his favorite parts was the act in the show that openly mocked little people (people who have dwarfism). I didn’t know what to say to that, and I know I’ll figure something out soon and come back to it. It was such a clear example of how we have to do better for our kids.
Yes, we have that moral obligation, but as parents there’s another layer to this charge. When we see something that's not right, not fair, or not just, we have a moral obligation to explain to our children why what we see is so wrong. This may be something in the actions of our children, or something that observe in a movie, or a book. It’s not enough to throw away the offensive Dr. Seuss book, or make sure that they don’t see the version of the film that has offensive racial stereotypes. We have to make sure they understand why we are making the choices we are to speak up and interrupt.
I often don’t know how to explain all that is wrong to my six-year-old in a way that is appropriate and that he will understand. Sometimes all I got is that “this movie makes people feel bad, so we aren’t going to watch it.” It’s really hard to know what to say but we’ve go try. Because even if we stop our child for a moment and stumble through words, they will sense our emotions. This pause, this moment of thought will make them wonder what and think deeper about their own perceptions and share in our feelings.
I was warned about the challenges of parenthood including social media, screen time, tantrums, sibling conflicts, potty training, racial identity development, and gender issues. No one told me about how hard it would be to explain the injustice and oppression of the world to my children. It’s one of the most difficult things about parenting, but it’s one of the most important and meaningful.
Never forget, our children are our greatest chance, our greatest hope to make this world a better place.
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