Republicans and Evangelicals, Get Your Hands The Hell Off Our Kids
Words from a father of Gen Z young people
Ever since Republicans killed Roe v Wade, I’ve been hearing that Gen Z is so pissed off that Republicans have taken away women’s body autonomy, that they are going to show up en masse in November to reject them and Donald Trump and elect Kamala Harris.
And the numbers are indeed showing unprecedented engagement by young voters and that they’re skewing decidedly Democrat. And while this reality gives me hope for this nation and its future, the idea that teenagers and twenty-somethings are expected to come in and save themselves from a political battle we adults lost, is an indictment of us all. They shouldn’t be in this place to begin with and we need to look in the mirror and face our shared failures:
Over one hundred million of us couldn’t be bothered to vote.
Others selfishly squandered their votes with third party support.
Still others foolishly bought into the lie that Republicans would never overturn a law that was fixed and settled.
Others of us may have simply relaxed, believing America would never see the unthinkable happen—until it did.
No matter where we have individually fallen short, we all need to examine our consciences, repent from our specific mistakes, and most of all, be a part of repairing the damage we’ve made possible.
Collectively, we have allowed Donald Trump, his predatory party, and three purchased, hand-picked Supreme Court justices to legislatively violate our daughters.
It’s as simple as that.
We have failed to protect them from and that should fully grieve us all.
So, yes, I’m glad Gen Z is disgusted, but we as their parents should be, too.
Not only should we be disgusted, we should be vocal and visible.
I hope we see more moms and dads come to the defense of all our kids; showing up at school board meetings and town civil gatherings and rallies and courthouse steps and church meetings and on social media and at family gatherings, and most of all in the voting booth. We should be forming a sprawling, outraged army that will flip America Blue without Gen Z’s help.
We cannot fail our kids again, as we won’t get another chance to fix anything. As Donald Trump has promised, our votes and voices will not matter after November if we do not prevail.
Right now, based on polls, the GOP is a few percentage points or a handful of states or possibly tens of thousands of votes away from instituting a national federal abortion ban, from subjugating every woman to Conservative Evangelical will, from continuing to take children’s healthcare out of the hands of parents and their physicians and into the hands of Conservative politicians.
And they won’t stop there.
They will target same-sex marriage.
They will continue to remove worker protections from minors, make it easier for adults to marry children, outlaw birth control, eliminate gender-affirming care.
Part of Project 2025’s agenda includes erasing LGBTQ young people by removing all mentions of them in government institutions and organizations.
Republicans have promised to criminalize LGBTQ advocates and allies and we need to believe them.
The sickest of ironies in this moment, is that with all their histrionics and carrying on about the Left endangering the children of this nation, the Republican Party and the Evangelical Church have been projecting. They are the ones targeting our kids: their bodies, their marriages, their medical decisions, their very identities.
Parents and parents alone should make the decisions about what happens to their daughters and sons. These are choices to be made in the sacred space that is a family in their home, free from outside interference. Government does not belong there and the Church, only if invited by personal faith.
Republicans and Evangelicals have no right to enter into that space and legislate their moral prejudices or mandate their antiquated theology for the rest of us. Another human being’s body and bedroom is not their jurisdiction: not a politician’s or a pastor’s.
Our children are actively fighting for their autonomy and sense of safety and their future right now and that is heartening—but it isn’t a fight they should be in alone.
Right now, we should be witnessing a massive flood of middle-aged and elderly Americans coming to the defense of young people: fathers, mothers, aunts, uncles, grandparents, neighbors, teachers, coaches, and compassionate strangers who believe life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is for all Americans.
This election should not be close if we truly give a damn about the welfare of children and the sanctity of family. We should bury the bigots in a landslide of diverse voices in opposition.
Parents particularly, need to show up.
I hope to see more mothers of every political affiliation stand up and tell the GOP that they will not allow their child's healthcare decisions to be controlled by any politician.
I want more fathers, regardless of their religion, to stand with me and tell Evangelicals to stay away from our daughter’s bodies.
This is a pivot point for this nation.
I'm the father of Gen Z kids and I'm voting #HarrisWalz2024 because they are in the trenches on behalf of all young people and their families and that’s where we should be.
If we don't want our children dragged back to the Dark Ages and into servitude and shame, we parents and adults need to fight passionately alongside them right now.
Because as our Vice President so clearly promises—we are not going back! And as Governor Walz wisely instructs, “mind your own damn business.”
For the coming months and especially on November 5th we all need to unequivocally tell Republican politicians and Evangelical pastors, “once-and-for-all: get your hands the hell off our children.”
Suggested reading:
Gus Walz is America's Son. America Needs to Protect Him, Now and in November.
As Minnesota Governor Tim Walz was pausing in a moment of rapturous applause during his Vice Presidential acceptance speech at the DNC, the camera panned to his family, whose effusive joy and pride were unmistakable.
Why Christians Should Reject Trump's Project 2025
Ok, so by now, you’re probably familiar with Project 2025. (If not, I’ll suggest that there are few more pressing things on your agenda as we approach this election). It is a 900-page document outlining in terrifying detail, Conservative Evangelical plans for a second Trump term.
John, this really clarifies what Michelle Obama said last week. “Do something”! No one has the luxury of being complacent. It is wrong to NOT vote. At the very least besides voting, we need to encourage family, friends, neighbors and even strangers to vote. First step is to make sure you are registered.
Vote. org
A place to check your registration, even the ability to register online ( tell others about it), and they will also let you know who is on your respective ballot. The only way there will be a BLUE 🌊 is if we all are involved. We owe it, not only to ourselves, but to the generations to come. As Kamala stated so beautifully, “we are not going back. They’re not taking us back. Our fight for the FUTURE is also a fight for FREEDOM.”
I 100% agree with you. Whether I have an abortion should only be between me, my medical provider and God. No one else should be involved as to whether or not I can have one, and there are clear times when it should be done. The GOP is now trying to walk back their nationwide ban, but I am also confident they are lying. After all, a man who lies 160 times in 64 minutes and over 40,000 times since he took office is OF COURSE lying to us now. You can tell because his lips are moving. Vote blue down the ticket!