"Do You Want Your Children To Deal With This?"
I experienced a shift in my tolerance for problems when I became a parent. As a single man, the problems of the world were not my problem. I might prefer a different world, but as a tall educated white man, I could basically ghost them if they got bad.
A child is different. Once I had a child, I had a stake in the world. While I know how to psychologically filter out the aspects of society I didn’t like, children are sponges. When I thought about my son interacting with the same problems, solutions like “well, I’ll just move” no longer seemed desirable.
The question “do I want my children to deal with this?” became a guiding principle for how I respond to problems. Many of the problems I’ve dealt with in my own life were the result of previous generations kicking those problems down the road to me. I want to be different. The cycle ends with me. That includes both personal and social cycles.
I wrote Children’s Justice between my engagement and the birth of my first child. The book came out when he was five months old. Children’s Justice turns up the heat. The book brings a stronger perspective than any previous work. For all the speculation about why I wrote the book, they missed the most obvious: I don’t want my kids to deal with the same problems the book addresses.
Every time the forces of the world try to censor, pressure, or coerce you, ask: Do I want my children to deal with this? If you do not stand strong, they will face the same pressure you did. It will be harder for them because those forces will be more entrenched. Or - do you love your children enough to win the fight now? I chose conflict, so the next generation can live in peace.
As a dad of 2, I know exactly what you are talking about.