I was just sitting here watching fireworks on television and thinking about, as a child, how exciting the 4th of July was... how much I loved my country and how much faith I had in my government! I can't help but wonder what children today think...
Our community canceled fireworks tonight because of financial concerns....
I hear adults talking about our country and all its' problems... and I watch as our children listen...
I rarely hear anything positive being said in front of children about the future of our country or world.
I am certainly not saying that we should be dishonest or only speak positively of our country. I believe in authentic discussions and that honesty is best, but surely we can find something we love about our country, even in these hard times. Surely we can share our hopes and dreams for this country with the children in our lives.
I worry that if all they hear is negativity and fear from the adults around them, then they will grow up fearful and filled with anxiety... and whether we love this country or struggle with it, our children live here, and it will be up to them to make it the place we hoped it would be when we were children.
I pray we can be intentional about sharing our joys, hopes and dreams for this country with our children and the children in our lives... as well as our concerns. And I pray we will all do something (write a letter to our government, collect trash, recycle, be kinder to our neighbors...) to make this country the place we dreamed of as children! For this is our country... yours, mine, and our children's.