Joy of the Day, Day 61: The Children

In all my years of writing, I’ve been warned time and time again against using cliches, I think because they’re considered a cop out—a cheap substitute for my own, original thinking/writing. Maybe so, but in the back of my mind I’ve always thought: why not use cliches as a linguistic baseline from which to build? A cliche only becomes a cliche when it is a resonant way of saying what’s true.

Today I feel paralyzed by my anger, by my whiteness, by my excuses, by my privilege. What can I do besides read White Fragility, which of course I will do? Of course I will read, I will write, I will speak out, I WILL VOTE, I will donate, I will try to understand my own problematic presets and work hard to dismantle them. But in my heart of hearts (cliche!) I know that while these steps are critically important—necessary—they cannot amount to the complete answer.

Today I’m going to say this: the children are our future. It’s plain, simple, cliche—and true.

I think we can all agree that kids are born, in the words of Jesse Itzler, “without a racist bone in their body.” Our whole world depends on our ability to understand that racism is learned, involuntarily, and then to work forward from that truth. Today President Obama, one of my beacons in the perfect storm (cliches!) we are weathering spoke this out so clearly: “Ultimately, it’s going to be up to a new generation of activists to shape strategies that best fit the times.”

Have you seen the video of two beautiful little boys, one black, one white, running to hug each other like their lives depend on it? (See the screenshot of their embrace below, and find the video at https://www.instagram.com/p/CA3-9USltw7/....) I can’t stop watching it. It brings joy, but also an answer. Talking the other day to Kristin about the infuriating feeling of powerlessness coursing through my veins, she so quickly and wisely came up with it: we can teach our children well. I am a parent, and that is my superpower.

Today, the limitless potential of our children is my joy. #joyinplace