Building a Generation with a Voice

My son and I were looking at a recent picture in the New York Times showing a man spraying a policeman with milk from the teat of a cow. It definitely grabbed your attention--the physics of the act alone made the picture astounding, not to mention the skill of the man doing the spraying. It garnered a good laugh and the subsequent conversation about all of the different animal/policeman combinations was (disturbingly) illuminating to say the least.

Unfortunately the story itself wasn't as engaging to either myself or my 9-year old son--and that's the problem. The article--about dairy farmers taking to the streets in support of their livelihood--should have been interesting to us both in terms of the issue and the action the farmers took to try and create the change they wanted. But, as my son said as he ran out the door "...it sooooo isn't cool Mom".

But why not? We are a country started with the ultimate of all protests. Our founding 'bad boys' thumbed their noses but good at the powers that be. Rosa Parks, the march on Selma, the march on the Pentagon in '67 and Stonewall in 1969, Kent State, the Million Man March, the road blockades in January, 1991 against the first Gulf War--all of these were powerful, effective movements driven by a collective desire for an idea or ideal.

Today these ideals have been corrupted. We feel righteously cool just by 'opting in' to the Darfur group on Facebook or 'signing' the latest Move-On letter to our Congressman. We show up to a Tea Party organized and staged by others, stand where they tell us to and say that it is a genuine movement.

I'm not advocating for violence, but rather against President Lincolns 'sin of silence'. We should teach our children how to be heard, to feel confident in standing up for what they believe, to follow their heart--and feet--to a crowd of other believers. And they should know they can change the world that way.

I know--I better watch out what I ask for. I'll have little Parks and Kings and Ghandi's bringing my household to a standstill. But what they do to me today, is what they do for me tomorrow. I'm thinking it's a decent trade-off.