A child's soul belongs to tomorrow. It's our duty to see that tomorrow is there for them. And a tomorrow which is not any more challenging that it should be. Unfortunately, we haven't done a very good job of tending to that job during our tenure as responsible adults. In fact, we have royally screwed up. We are leaving them a world filled with hatred of our fellow man, fear and intolerance in abundance, a planet which is in peril, a way of life which promises little, and still we persist in compounding the errors we have made which bring us to this place in time.

Is it any wonder that they are now saying ... 'get out of the way ... you've certainly done all the damage imaginable ... its our time now. We have a huge job ahead of us and we need to be heard and to get on with trying to correct the course you have led us on before it is too late for all of us.'

This past election season has provided that chance to right the course we have been on for so long. The youth have made their voices heard as we have watched those of our generation in far too many cases struggle to still maintain the status quo despite the knowledge that we must recognize that our way has been a dismal failure. This "Me First" society we have wallowed in as those who least needed it have prospered at the expense of society as a whole has had a disastrous effect. Today we face enormous challenges  and although we may not like facing it, they are a direct result of our tendency to think only of today and not to do as we should have done to secure the future for those we hold most dear.

Instead we are still clinging to old habits and beliefs where judging our fellow man  takes precedence over the common good. Where spending today and not considering that the day for payment will come sees hardship and financial ruin facing not only us but the world our children must face because of our recklessly profligate lifestyles. And yet we think we know best ? When do we stop deluding ourselves ?

We see a world which no longer trusts us and where our enemies grow by the day. And not without justification, given our actions of recent years. We have carelessly squandered our moral authority allowing our leaders to see power as a lodestone and in our insidiously ubiquitous acceptance of their blind ambition this has led us to forego almost everything for which our countries have stood throughout our history. We have allowed this to happen seriously endangering the possibility of peace in our children's future despite the fact this goes against everything in which we profess to believe. We have forfeited the right to determine that future. It is now in their hands... and  we must recognize this. This time is theirs.

For the first time in decades there is a genuine sense of hope that perhaps the course we have been on can be corrected as we see an amazing man elected the new President of the United States and Leader of the Free World. He brings new hope to the entire world that perhaps it is not too late. And not a minute too soon. We are asking a great deal of this man and yet he does not hesitate to accept the monumental challenges he will face. And not without great personal risk as well for although the youth see the promise in this man and it has inspired them to believe again, there are those who cannot, or will not, discard their preset ideas, continue to cling to their prejudices, fear change, and look for ways to undermine him as he takes up the mantle of leadership.

Once before in my lifetime there was such a hope and that hope was extinguished as the forces which seek to destroy that which they cannot control robbed us of our innocence and we stopped believing. Until now. We must not allow that to happen to the youth of today. We stood by silently as their futures were compromised. We must stand with them now. We most assuredly owe them a great deal more than that. 

Robert F. Kennedy often used a quote from George Bernard Shaw in ending many of his speeches so long ago in another time when hope was so desperately needed. The quote is most certainly as applicable today. And once again a man offers that hope. May God protect him in his endeavours so this time the hope is not in vain.