Children Will Listen

In 1990 I was brought in as a last minute replacement as Jack's Mom in Into the Woods at Swift Creek Mill Playhouse. The actress playing her had to leave the cast, and Tom Width called me to ask me to come audition. I got the part. It was daunting to say the least as I was coming into the rehearsal process late, and if you know anything about Sondheim, that is no easy task. The cast welcomed me, and it was my entrance back into professional theatre after a very long hiatus. That show changed me in many ways, but I was 22, and I don't know if I truly appreciated the show's themes as I do now at 55. Through the last 33 years there have been many situations that have arisen that I have thought of the wisdom of Stephen Sondheim's lyrics, especially from Into the Woods. The running theme is "be careful what you wish for," but so many other things come up as he tells the story. Each thing we do affects someone else, although we may not see it at the time. Often times we make selfish choices that end up leaving someone else's life in ruins. The beautiful Julie Fulcher-Davis played the Witch in our production. Julie is a passionate actress and an even more passionate person. In the show her character sings a song called Children Will Listen. SPOILER ALERT: She sings the song while grieving the loss of her only child. The really sad part is that ultimately her daughter's death happened as a result of  the wheels she set in motion. To hear Julie sing it would make your heart break. The song begins:
              "Careful the things you say, children will listen.
              Careful the things you do, children will see and learn.."
I have pretty much kept this blog out of the hard political arena, but tomorrow is an extremely important day in the life of our country, and truthfully, our lives. I have watched over the past 2 years with disgust, fear, and shock at the horrible things that have become commonplace in our society. I have watched as hate has been encouraged and allowed to thrive, even stoked. I have watched awful things happen that I never thought I would see in my own country, let alone the fact that my government was on the side of the bad guys. I kept thinking, there's no way this can go on. There's no way that people will keep turning a blind eye, but here we are 2 years later, and I mourn the country I used to know. I never really thought about it except from my point of view, but then I read a post that a friend of mine wrote on Facebook about "what we will tell our children" about these times. A small excerpt:
          I take my responsibility as a role model seriously, and I believe that honesty and transparency, and speaking to children as you would a peer are keys to their development. Children will learn only as much as we teach them, and when it comes to teaching them Right versus Wrong, that should be pretty easy, right?

So what do you tell your children about our President?

Is it right to lie? Is it right to sexually assault? Is it right to stoke fear?

The President repeatedly calls the press Fake News and the Enemy of the People. He has been caught on tape saying that if you’re a celebrity, it’s okay to kiss women and much worse without their consent. He has repeatedly rallied to Lock Up people who have committed no crimes other than being his political opponent, all while claiming that it is the other side who demonstrates “mob” like behavior. And today, he retweeted the most racially charged national political ad in a generation.

To me, it is pretty clear: The President’s behavior is wrong. And if you vote for him OR you vote for politicians who support him, you support the things he supports.

You vote in support of lying. You vote in support of believing the accused over the accuser. You vote in support of racist acts. Can we not agree that these things are Wrong?

Tomorrow is not about party. Tomorrow is about the side of right and the side of wrong. I want to be on the side of right, and I want to be able to look my grandchildren that I may have one day in their sweet faces and be proud of what I stood for. Don't you? I fear if we continue to accept this unacceptable behavior, we will be so far down a path we will never be able to return to what's right and decent. Search your heart tomorrow and vote. You know what's right! Let the world know!