To my son on his first birthday- A violent summer

in #parenting8 years ago

Your first birthday lands in the middle of a violent summer.

In Europe: there have been numerous terror attacks ranging from bombings to trucks taking out crowds, to machete hackings and a priest’s thought being slit while he was giving Mass. Things are to the point that AirFrance is warning travelers to avoid France as a destination.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/07/26/in-the-summer-of-hate-france-is-a-nation-under-attack/

France, a country I cannot wait to share with you. Maybe one day it will be safe again.

In our own country: a night club was shot out while people were using their rights as an American to live their lives as they wished. We’ve also seen a wave of Police brutality towards a particular segment of our society and some have retaliated. I won’t even get into the Presidential election and the corruption that is rampant in our politics and election process.

These are examples from the past few months. If I were to look at the entirety of your short life thus far we’d find more examples of violence and hate.

Your first birthday lands in the wake of uncertainty.

This is our current reality. Sometimes I mourn the kind of world you have been brought into. It is a scary scary place to be a parent. In my understanding we as a nation are facing more uncertainty than we have in a very long time.

However, there are incredible things happening as well. Despite or maybe because of the uncertainty we have Blockchain technology. The Blockchain has come a long way since 2008. Where will it go? How will this technology influence the world for good or bad? There is so much potential and I can’t wait to see how it is utilized by the time you are an adult. I specifically think that Steem is going to play an integral part in the mainstream adoption of the blockchain technology. Will Steem be a turning point for the social media, publishing, marketing and the arts?

Your first birthday lands in the middle of a time of innovation and opportunity for change.

There is so much harm that can be done in the world.

My goal is to raise you to be a positive force.

My prayer is that you will be an innovator and stand for the good of humanity.

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Awesome post bud, keep it up!

> My goal is to raise you to be a positive force.
> My prayer is that you will be an innovator and stand for the good of humanity.

Awesome. I named my son after the character Leto (the third) from the Dune books because of aspirations that he would become a better man and be a better force for good than I've been.

Awesome name.
I wanted to name a kid Atticus after Atticus Finch until it came out in Go Set A Watchman that he was racist. Glad that the prequel was published before I did.

Ah, yeah could have been a bad situation. The worst part is I always viewed Atticus as the ideal father figure while I was growing up... I guess everyone has their flaws.