America is more divided than any other time in recent history.
The 2016 election cycle has encouraged an “us vs. them” mentality like most of us have never seen before. A new poll shows that 7% of Americans have actually ended friendships over the Clinton vs. Trump showdown, and 70% say this election has brought out the worst in people.
We’re going in the absolute wrong direction – so how do we reverse the tide?
According to Deborah Gilboa, a family doctor and parenting expert interviewed by the Washington Post, many people assume that children learn hate and racism and xenophobia at home, but that’s not always the case.
“Young children and cautious children often have an inherent distrust of that which they don’t recognize as familiar — people, and also food, activities and so on. As parents, it’s our job to help our children respect others and learn to see differences as interesting, not scary,” she said.
“We have to teach our kids to avoid sweeping generalizations about people — by gender, by religion, by culture, by race.”
A truth that has been tested, as each presidential candidate spills out stances on race and religion, playing on fears and struggles.
The problems we have seen in our country recently are deep and twisted and rooted in our culture. In order to unravel all of that, we need to listen to each other. Talk to our kids about hard issues. Be kind and show compassion. We can make gestures such as signing up to be a mentor to a child in need, or becoming a foster parent. Even small things, such ensuring that kids treat every adult with respect, and teaching them to not act like jerks to other kids and to stand up to bullies, can help. We can encourage them to support leaders in all walks of life who show strength through love, rather than hate and derision.
Check out the full article HERE.