Beyond the damage that the majority of Americans feel is being done to our country by this administration, there is another critical reason to vote for congressional checks and balances in the upcoming midterms.
To save our children.
What do you think would be the effect on our nation’s children when our most visible and powerful leaders model behavior that totally conflicts with the character traits we try to teach them?
A whole generation of America’s children—over 50 million—have been exposed to this president’s corrosive influence for more than a decade. At their most vulnerable stage. At a time when they are developing their brains, their character, and core values.
The science is clear that the preteen and teenage years are when our kids are most impressionable. And mostly unconscious about what is shaping them. And let’s not kid ourselves about “childhood innocence” or our ability to isolate them. We know our children’s tech savvy and access to online media today are boundless!
My life’s work has been devoted to character-based leadership. First by training thousands of executives and managers at Renaissance Leadership, a firm that I founded in 1978. There it became evident that the most vital principle for effective leadership—and life—is leading through character-based values such as honesty, trust, mutual respect, and service above self.
Business and life success occurred when these principles prevailed. Note that President Trump believes in none of them. And our children know that.
And then I had the honor of serving as president of the Milton Hershey School, the world’s largest residential school, with over 2,200 financially needy students in pre-K through 12th grade. Our school learned early on that the character development of our children was the key to their success. We became quite good at it, and MHS has been renowned for student character development for over a century.
But with the advent of mass media, technology, and now AI, character-building is becoming much tougher for schools. And incredibly difficult for parents who are the front-line shapers and defenders of America’s children.
A central concept that we taught at Renaissance Leadership was called “The Shadow of the Leader.” Essentially, who you are—your values and your character—casts an impact far beyond what you say and even do.
“Who you are speaks so loudly I can’t hear you!”
That captured the concept. So think about the penetrating impact Trump has on our children, not only by what he brazenly does but what he boasts about daily. Neither we nor especially our kids and grandkids can tell how much is “sinking in.”
Picture our students who were exposed to this “leadership model” from 3rd to 12th grade over the past decade. To the most powerful person in the world. That has the capacity to poison the moral fiber of a whole generation of our children.
And to appreciate the corrosive impact on our citizens, we need only look at dictatorships like those of Hitler and Stalin. And the seduction by fictional villains like the Joker and Darth Vader on juveniles.
So what lessons are America’s children learning from our “Commander in Chief”?
- LYING IS SMART.
- ALWAYS BLAME OTHERS.
- TRUST—AND YOUR WORD—DON’T MATTER.
- (MY) ENDS JUSTIFY MY MEANS.
- BULLYING IS COOL.
- HELPING OTHERS IS STUPID.
Here is the worst part. Our cultural degradation is occurring without a national uproar. Our children are absorbing these lessons of vanity and vengeance largely without a public moral screen.
So this midterm election needs to be our “National Outcry”! Not as Democrats or Republicans or Independents. But as parents, grandparents, teachers, coaches, and all Americans who care about honesty, decency, and putting country above self.
That will require electing courageous and patriotic candidates to Congress. Morally strong leaders who will provide guardrails on a president who will be older, meaner, and more self-serving in the last two years of his reign.
And then we can proudly show our children that America still prides itself on founding principles like equality, freedom of speech, fairness, and rule of law. Building their character around integrity, service, and fairness will still be challenging but doable again.
This is an epic struggle between good and evil. It is essential that Americans rein in the dangerous dictator in the White House for the next two years.
If we fail to do so, the damage to our republic—and to our children—may be beyond repair by 2028.
Johnny O’Brien is a former president of Milton Hershey School and founder of Renaissance Leadership. He is the author of Semisweet: An Orphan’s Journey Through the School the Hersheys Built and lives in Easton.