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For the last couple of days I have left the warmth of Florida for the frozen tundra of Wisconsin. Not really to Green Bay but to Racine Wisconsin. It is early December and this time of year like most times of year in Wisconsin the temperature will fluctuate. In December it is common for it to fluctuate from the 20s to the 50s and so it has this weekend. When it is in the 20s you hear people say “What do they mean with this Global Warming garbage”. When it is in the 50s people will say “look how warm it is, Climate Change is real”. In many places of the country the way we judge Climate Change is by opening the door and not listening to the science.

The reason why I am in Wisconsin is to watch my 16 year old grandson play basketball and my 14 year old granddaughter cheerlead. The grandson plopped in 15 points and had about 7 rebounds so I was one happy camper and my granddaughter did a great job helping leading the cheers. Both grandkids go the very same high school that I went to in the 60s and early 70s. Needless to say the place has changed a lot as it should have after 50 years just as the whole city of Kenosha where the High School is located. Even though the High School is almost 60 years old it still looks great and the Kenosha Unified School District has done a good job of keeping it up to date. It could use a field house but that is a lot of money so the game was played in the same gym that they used when I was there. There was a Developmentally Disable Student there that looked like he was part of the team. I don’t know if he was but the way everyone interacted with him I thought was great. During halftime they had the music going and he was playing the air guitar and one of the cheerleaders joined him not to mock him but to help enhance the moment. Moments like that give me great hope for the future.

I write in a effort to make a difference for the future of this great nation. Being a Grandparent to not only those two but to two others as well makes the future very important to me. When I hear people say “why should they care about Climate Change because they won’t be around anyway” must not be parents or grandparents. Either that or they really are the deplorable people that Hillary talked about. The future of this country and even in this world is not about oil but it is about the people that we leave behind when it is our time to go. I am not a religious person but I do remember that when some children were trying to approach Jesus and his disciples stop them he had the children come forward.  How are we treating the Children? What type of world are we leaving the children? The children are the future but are we even thinking about their future?

We just had an election and Generation Z, as the young people are called, made their presence at the polls felt and their voices be heard. Many voted for Democrats which pissed the Republicans off. Instead of looking at the reasons why the young people voted for so many Democrats their solution is to change that voting age to 21. Either you vote for me are we will take your vote away is what they are really saying. Yes, voter suppression is a real thing. I remember when 18 years old got the right to vote. The 26th amendment to the Constitution was ratified and signed into law in July of 1971. One month before my 18th birthday. At 18 we had to sign up for the draft and could be sent to Vietnam to die for our country but before 1971 we had no real voice. I remember people saying that if an 18 year old could fight and die for his country he should have a voice in who is sending him to fight. 18 year olds are still dying for our country and as long as there are wars they will continue to die.

Why are Republicans not asking why Generation Z is voting for Democrats? What has Generation Z been growing up with? They have been growing up knowing that the science behind Climate Change is real. They are watching their future being traded for people wanting to make the big buck now and not caring about the future that they are leaving Generation Z. They have watched tax breaks being given to the rich and the deficit increasing and leaving them the bill to pay. They have watched the price education go up and the Republicans not wanting to help. They are watching much of the world pass us by in education and healthcare. They have watched in fear as too many schools have turned into shooting galleries while the thoughts and prayers have accomplished nothing.

This country has not paid enough attention to the future that we are leaving the next generation and they know it.

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