What I will tell my future children

By: Mary Kate Dore, Former A&E Editor

Amidst the chaos of the media published after the results of the presidential election revealed Donald Trump to be our President-Elect, I stumbled across a Huffington Post article titled “What Do We Tell the Children?” As a member of a generation that experienced defining moments of our nation’s history through youthful eyes, I have often thought back to the adults who attempted to articulate the complexity, passion and cruelty of the world to a pigtailed child. Now, as a senior in college, I am forced to consider these moments for not only myself, but for the children I hope to one -day raise.

So what will I tell my children?

I will tell my children that I was proud to cast my vote for the first female presidential candidate from a major party. I will tell them that I thought of them as I marked her name on my ballot; I personally believed I was choosing a candidate who would respect their life choices no matter the adult they grew up to be. I will tell them that they can too achieve any dream, that I will raise them to love and respect their neighbor, and that I will help them educate themselves so that when their time comes to vote, they too can feel confident in their choice.

I will tell my children that our country is united far more than we are divided, and that unity will always exceed partisanship. I will tell my children how passionate Americans were in this historical election and how much they, our future, were considered. I will tell my children that the votes cast were in hopes of making our world a better place, and that each citizen truly felt that their vote would work towards that ideal.

I will tell my children that I am proud to live in a democracy, and they should be too. I will tell them that they have a power greater than any, as they can voice and contribute to the choice of who will lead them. I will tell my children that we live in a country in which a system has been implemented to ensure that no singular person has too much power, that they will never be dictated.

I will tell my children to never be a sore loser and always a gracious winner, and to never judge nor be hateful towards a person because of their beliefs. I will explain to my children how many issues are not “yes” or “no,” and how the culmination of life experiences helps delineate how a person thinks from a political perspective. I will teach my children that an opinion or partisanship is never “right.”

I will tell my children to educate themselves to develop and defend their opinions and beliefs. But, more than anything, I will teach them to fiercely love, loyally fight, and follow what their own moral compass indicates. I truly believe in the intentions of our country, the beauty of democracy, and the greatness of a country that is fueled by hope, passion, and change.