On My Dad’s Birthday, His Gift To His Family

Kids today aren’t just listening to the music I grew up with–they’re growing up with a lot of other leftovers.

The 1970s saw high inflation, an energy crisis, rampant crime and a sense that America wasn’t great and might not be worth preserving. Sound familiar?

One of the reasons many former Democrats, like my dad, voted for Ronald Reagan in 1980 was how he authentically spoke of and for America as an exceptional place. We were lucky to have her, Reagan said, and needed to keep her.

Today, many young people say they’re disappointed in, or even ashamed of, America. Whether it’s a SCOTUS decision, or politics, they are purple in the face with outrage and derision.

As children, we knew of Dad’s genuine patriotism and love of country.

Now, this country hadn’t always loved him. He knew his share of discrimination and disappointment.

But he decided not to pass that along to us. His spoken and unspoken message: you’re the luckiest damn kids in the world to be in this country, and you don’t even know it yet.

As a parent, you can raise children with your anger and disappointment, who will be always feel like victims.

Or you can raise children with an appreciation for America’s liberty and ideals. With self-sufficiency, not victimhood.

Dad’s choice of the latter was his gift to us.