We are witnessing unprecedented lawlessness, violence, and unrest in our nation. The media have spent countless hours discussing who is the most victimized in our society, but they have ignored the most innocent victims: our children. When society descends into chaos, it is our children who suffer the greatest consequences.
You don’t have to look very hard to find examples of how the current political climate and civil unrest is affecting children. Back in March, we were told to lock down to “flatten the curve” and prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed with COVID-19 cases. Mothers across the nation listened; many stepped up to work from home while homeschooling and kept their children home and away from activities, church, playdates, and ordinary life.Doctors’ understanding of the virus and the threat it poses has changed, yet here we are beginning the new school year, and in many places the draconian measures continue.
Pediatricians and concerned parents warn that these draconian measures we are taking to keep our kids “safe” are causing long-lasting harm. Perhaps the only benefit to this new social experiment we are inflicting on a generation of children is that for many mothers, the “new normal” is a wake-up call. For the first time, many parents are seeing what their children are learning firsthand. And some teachers are not happy about that.
Many Americans who love God, family, and country are learning that some of their children’s teachers are indoctrinating their students with anti-American, anti-family, and anti-life messages. For the first time in public, radical teachers are complaining about the “outsiders” interfering with the brainwashing and indoctrination they are imposing on our children. By “outsiders,” these teachers mean parents, the rightful guardians of our children.
Just as moms across the country are discovering how contrary to their values much of the education system has become, they are also discovering how destructive the ideology many teachers are spreading is. When radicals, many of them teachers, are burning Bibles and American flags in the streets, we do not need to wonder if socialism and its godlessness is on the way: socialism is at the gates.
This destruction is not limited to a few fringe cities, far from our safe neighborhoods. Along with the infiltration of our schools and the undermining of the family comes violence and destruction everywhere. The most horrific example is the recent killing of five-year-old Cannon Hinnant. Cannon, like so many five-year-olds, was innocently playing in his yard with his sisters, ages seven and eight. While riding his bike, Cannon was shot point-blank. His young sisters witnessed his shocking death.
The violence was so sudden and unthinkable that the adults witnessing it did not at first believe it. Cannon’s dad, who was inside his house at the time told WRAL, "The first thing that went through my mind was maybe he just fell off his bike. The closer I got to him, the more I realized it was something far more serious." His father recalls holding his son as he died, "I screamed, 'Somebody, please help me save my son! Help me save my son, please.’”
What is most astonishing about Cannon’s death is the unremarkable way it was treated by the media. Only after the trending hashtag #SayHisName spread on Twitter, did the media start reporting on this incident, which should have been front page news from the beginning.
An innocent little boy is now buried, and his sisters will carry the weight of witnessing a horrific and unconscionable crime for the rest of their lives. No mother should have to bury her child in such circumstances. This is unacceptable. Have we become a nation in which children cannot play freely on their own streets? Cannon’s mom said simply, “My baby didn’t deserve this.” No mother’s child does.
We know that suburban moms will be the deciding demographic in the upcoming election. If moms show up to the polls on election day and vote their values, America will be brought back from the brink. The turbulent months of 2020 have shown us what is on the line. We have a choice between two fundamentally different world views. The Biden/Harris regime wants open borders, bigger government bureaucracy, immunity to teachers’ unions, and more mandates from the federal level. The Trump Administration has demonstrated commitment to policies that support families, promote law and order, protect Life, and preserve American liberty. As moms, we must decide which America we want our children to inherit.
Kimberly Fletcher is the president and founder of Moms for America, (www.MomsforAmerica.us), author of “WOMEN: America’s Last Best Hope,” and a radio host.