A Letter to My Children: Stand Up for what you Believe in!

To William and James

We live in a world of darkness, hate, violence and injustice. A world where people will do whatever they can because they believe they are doing the right thing.

They are not completely wrong in doing this. They are passionate about what they are doing even if at times, in my opinion, they are misguided in opinion and actions.

We have spoken about the hurt and violence caused by others where they have bombed innocent people, attacked and abused others in a name of a cause they believe in. We have had to discuss why these people are doing this and why, within this, that they aren’t representing the true nature of the name they fight for.

We have then spoken about God, our church and our faith and how religion can create extremists that don’t represent the love that is the foundation of our faith. We have spoken that although the terrorist extremists will do such horrendous acts in the name of their faith that we too have extremists doing similar acts which we don’t condone either.

However, we have spoken about hope, strength, being brave and standing up for what you believe in. It is OUR strength in these moments that show who we really are and the outpouring of love and community good despite, and especially within, these moments.

Don’t ever feel like you have to compromise what you believe in because others have brought fear, scaremongering and hate towards your view.

We have also had time to sit and discuss politics and the importance of voting.

We have, in some detail, discussed the importance of a democracy and to look at what we want for ourselves, our community and what we want to happen in the future. We have looked at the policies that different political parties offered and decided together what we thought was needed.

We looked at how we live, what helps us individually and how we CAN make a difference with our vote.

You came with me whilst I voted and you knew who I was voting for.

Yet, when the time comes and it is your choice to vote don’t worry if it isn’t the outcome you wanted. It doesn’t matter, your voice was recorded and you stood for what you believed in.

Don’t ever feel like you have to compromise what you believe in because others have brought fear and scaremongering towards your view.

We have spoken about issues that have come from a “negative political outcome” that can affect us first hand. We have discussed how and why it is important to stand with others or by ourselves to say why we disagree.

We have spoken about the fact that sometimes you may be small in stature and number but the strength of conviction is sometimes more important even when other disagree.

Don’t ever feel like you have to compromise what you believe in because of the number of people standing with you.

We have spoken out importance issues like health, disease and charity that affect us personally like FSHD or Globally like Palm Oil. We chatted about the importance of raising awareness for these things and if we, even as a few, make a point of speaking about these issues so others CAN and WILL be more aware in the future.

People might not always understand why you are doing it. Some may struggle connecting with what you are saying because they are living a different life but that is okay. You have stood up for what you believe in rather than staying quiet.

Don’t ever feel like you need to compromise what you believe in because others don’t understand the battle.

Finally, we have spoken about the importance for you to disagree with me on topics that mean something to you.

I am older and my life isn’t going to be the same as yours. You are surrounded by an ever changing world that I will be growing out of but you will be at the centre.

We may, at some point, disagree on our personal faith. We may disagree on what we believe is better for us and the country politically. We may disagree that fighting for a cause is futile. We may disagree on how to raise awareness for a cause. In all of these positions do not worry; it is okay for you to disagree with me.

Don’t ever feel like you need to compromise what you believe in because I don’t understand the battle.

You are strong. I will always respect your view even if I disagree with it. The fact you are still small doesn’t mean that you can’t stand up for what you believe in, whoever the opposing person is.

Your voice and your opinion are enough will always matter and is the one that counts. Be kind, courteous, do not bow to violence, verbal hate and aggression to have your voice heard and seen but still stand strong.  Be strong enough to make your own decisions, regardless of what I or anyone else think and stand up for what you believe in.

Love from 

Dad