vulnerable

Chato and I are pretty good at dreaming big dreams and striking goals off our list, one by one.  We number off trips, big ideas, prayers for our kids' futures.  There's no end to it and we add to it all the time.  Doesn't everyone have these lists?  Everyone, whether they write them down or not, still believes they can be successful, move forward, achieve goals, right?  But somewhere, while January hopped right over us, our reelected President stated:

"Together, we resolved that a great nation must care for the vulnerable, and protect its people from life’s worst hazards and misfortune."

Collectively, our lists are doomed --if we continue to ignore that our lists are not built on one another. Our own awareness, uniqueness, and individuality are colliding.  Those of us that are parents to ME generation kids must be alert to the lack of empathy and compassion that has fallen by the way side.  Schools across the country, half heartedly teach Social Studies because it is not a means of making gains on a school report card, and we, as parents, are not valuing these growing minds enough to give them their lineage.  

We are not, ever, going to fit into the same predetermined hole or slot.  Nor, should we fabricate our lives as such.  See those two kids up there? Daylight and dark.  Sun and moon.  Raised in the same household by the same parents, their lives are structured and consistent, yet worlds apart.  I can't predict for them what this world might one day be, but I can try my best.  And when I try my best, I tell them to take care of themselves and show responsibility, and then move it forward and watch out for what those around you need, too.  We all have weaknesses.  We all struggle with a myriad of backwards steps and eventful slip ups.  But even so, if our lists don't include items for anyone but ourselves, we are not doing our job to ensure society has a promising horizon. 

As an educator, I see the failings of our system - ignoring the social emotional factors and calling out for monetary solutions.  A revolution needs to occur, where mass groves of human potential must be called to action - not recessive measures, because we can't.  We have to.  There is no leeway.  No time to put it off.  

 My son cries out that no one hears him.  My daughter wants to open her arms to the world.  But we live in a world where individuals only want to embrace the easy.  And that 50-50 chance is not an option here.  I don't gamble on maybes.  Our battle lessens only when our focus is narrowed, and must afford this now.  

How can we all step up, pay it forward, call ourselves to action and kill the politics to become a democracy again?