Tag Archives: Republicans

‘IF IT IS TO BE, IT’S UP TO ME’

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#GenZ #GenX #YoungAdults #elections #RunningForOffice #FutureLeaders
The ominous headline reads: “No one’s coming to save us.”
One might think the story was about disaster victims.
But, The New York Times story by Emma Schartz and Pooja Salhotra is about Gen Z folks (young adults) who are running for political office and, in many cases, winning. They are beating, in many cases, much older opponents.
The article was also published July 1, 2026, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The point of the story is that since growing up through the COVID-19 pandemic, these young folks are finding that the government, usually run by much older people, is not working for them.
Therefore, they are taking matters into their own hands.
Another interesting point in the article is that they are not all of the same political persuasion. There are Charlie Kirk conservatives and Democratic Socialists in this mix.
If you are older, perhaps the age of their parents or grandparents, do you feel threatened by these young folks taking over?
If so, relax. This is a good thing.
We’ve been hearing a lot about youth and their mental health recently. Some older folks are scratching their heads, because they believe the kids never had it so good. But, in fact, this is the first generation not expected to do as well as their parents financially and, perhaps, otherwise.
With artificial intelligence either already here or on the horizon, their future looks even more uncertain.
Their regular use of devices is not helping in many cases. We need kids to be technologically literate. We need innovators to innovate. But, for some, online addiction and bullying are real issues. We need them to interact more with people live, rather than through a device.
When kids go through what they are going through, or have gone through, it’s really good that many of them are stepping up to control not only their own lives, but to help others.
Their elders, rather than fearing this phenomenon, should instead go quietly into retirement and let the kids take over.
Certainly, kids don’t always adopt the same attitudes, viewpoints and worldview of their elders.
But, that is part of maturing. It’s part of becoming an adult. It’s part of becoming less dependent on mom and dad.
Of course, there are those who can’t seem to find their way out of their parents’ basements.
But, this article makes it clear that there are future leaders out there, like James Thibault. He’s running for re-election as a Republican state representative in New Hampshire at age 20.
And, Melat Kiros, 29. She’s already beaten 15-term Democratic incumbent Diana DeGette, 68, for a Colorado congressional seat nomination.
If you have a Gen Zer, or young Gen Xer in your family who is not satisfied with the way things are going for them, refer the Times article to them.
Providing they don’t have a disability – or, even if they do – they, too, can take matters into their own hands. They CAN run for something.
Feel free to help them as needed, but also cut them enough slack to make their own decisions about who they want to be.
Yes, indeed, as the movie title says, “The Kids Are All Right.”
Peter

EDUCATION VS. FAITH

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Most think of education as learning something new. That idea was turned on its head in Texas.
The Texas Republican Party has the following plank in its 2012 platform: “We oppose the teaching of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) [values clarification], critical thinking skills and similar programs that are simply a relabeling of Outcome-Based Education (OBE) [mastery learning], which focus on behavior modification and have the purpose of challenging the student’s fixed beliefs and undermining parental authority.”
The quoted plank comes from The Miami Herald’s Leonard Pitts, in a July 2012 column. Naturally, Pitts is outraged at the thought of this, but let’s take it line by line, shall we?
Higher Order Thinking: Do Texans not want children thinking too much? When students do something wrong, and a parent asks, “What were you thinking,” should the student respond: “I didn’t want to upset you by violating the Higher Order Thinking ban.”
No critical thinking allowed: Despite numerous reports from employers that they are looking for more people who are good critical thinkers, no matter what job they apply for, the students in Texas should NOT be good at this, the plank seems to state.
Outcome-Based Education: Do Texans want their students to have no outcomes from their education, other than, perhaps, the acquisition of a piece of paper that says they graduated? Do they want them to learn NOTHING in school that might encourage them to learn more, perhaps outside of school, the home, or church?
Now, we are getting to the heart of the matter. Some folks out there believe that whatever your mother, father or preacher tells you is the absolute truth. Anything you see or hear that contradicts that is false. We hear people talk about the need for higher education, and at the same time call the institutions of higher education indoctrination centers, whose goal is to poke a million holes in a student’s core beliefs – or, as Texas calls them, “fixed beliefs.”
IRON-CLAD FIXED BELIEFS
There are all kinds of ways to go with this concept. Should all “fixed beliefs” be iron-clad? Do we want our students to respond, “we can’t do it that way, because we were always taught to do it this way,” when their employer shows them a new way to do something that may be more efficient, improve quality or make their lives easier? Or, God forbid, they discover FOR THEMSELVES a new way of doing things? It may be safe to presume that the platform plank is Christian oriented. How would the proponents of this feel if, say, Muslim students could not learn new ways of thinking, so as not to challenge their fixed beliefs and undermine their parents’ authority?
Some private schools are operated by religious establishments. Some allow students who are not practitioners of that religion. In some schools, those students can opt out of religion classes, and still get a good education in practical, secular disciplines.
The public schools, to which the platform plank refers, should contain no religious orthodoxy in any class. They should teach the students of all religions, or no religion, exactly the same way. Decades ago, students had no problem reconciling what they learned in church, at home or at school, regardless of how the material may have seemed contradictory. If they are having that problem today, it may be because of disputes among parents and various institutions.
The definition of faith is to believe something is true without necessarily having proof. The definition of science is to suspect something may be true, then seek to prove it right or wrong. We may never have proof that things in our faith are true. That’s not to diminish faith. Faith can be a powerful, positive motivator and a good foundation for one’s character. But everyone, students or otherwise, must understand the difference between faith and science. Everyone should have some of both in their lives. Beliefs should not be so powerful that they cannot change under any circumstances. Faith should never be so powerful as to inhibit real learning.
Peter

P.S. No matter your faith, or belief system, if you’d like to be educated on a way to become more prosperous, visit www.bign.com/pbilodeau.