Letter To The Editor: Unitarian Tweens Have Questions

Letter to the editor from members of the Unitarian Church In Westport:

Nov. 1, 2020

On Sunday October 25, the Tweens class (9-12 year olds) of the Unitarian Church in Westport discussed the words and behavior of the President of the United States. It led to a discussion about what is right. Teachers took notes and compiled the children’s responses into a letter.

Dear Editor,

Hello. We are children from the Unitarian Church in Westport, CT: Cameron, Emily, Kaitlyn, Tobias, Josephine, Zoe, Tessa, Camden and Bennett. We meet with our teachers on ZOOM every Sunday because of the virus. This past Sunday, we wrote a letter to the Editor of the newspaper. This is that. We are a little confused.

Our parents and caregivers, our church, our teachers, and our friends, teach us that name-calling, lying, and hating are not okay. We carefully watch the adults in our lives because they show us how to tell the truth, to keep quiet if there is nothing nice to say, and to be kind to others even if we don’t feel like it sometimes. Our parents and caregivers are doing a really good job trying to explain what we hear and see from the President. We are not supposed to talk about the President by name, being that we are part of a church and the Constitution says church and state shouldn’t get mixed up, but we still have questions. We are confused.

Should we do like the President? Is it okay to call people names? Is it true that the President called a woman a “monster” not too long ago? Is it true that the doctors, the ones who are trying to keep us safe from the virus, are “idiots?” We are learning that it’s not nice to call people names. If the President does it, maybe we can, too?

Is it okay to lie sometimes? We are told no. Is it true what the President said that eighty-five percent of people who wear masks catch the virus? We were told something different. Who is telling the truth? Is it true that if we drink a little glass of detergent it will kill the virus? The sick-monster stickers under the sink warn us something different. If the President says it might keep us safe, should we believe that?

Is it okay to hate some people? We are taught no every Sunday. It’s the Golden Rule from the Bible: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” From what we hear from the President, we should hate Mexicans for entering our country without permission. We should hate a little those people who are Muslim and dark-skinned because they don’t belong here. Is it true that the President banned Muslims? Is it true that some dark-skinned people should go back to the countries they came from? Is it true that some of the countries they should go back to are a swear word? Is it true that the governor of Michigan is doing a terrible job? Is it true that she was almost kidnapped because of it? If the President shows us that it is okay to hate a little, should we do that, too? Sometimes we feel angry at other people. Should we hate them a little to show them?

If we want to make friends, we have to be honest to show that we are trustworthy. If we lie and get away with it, we still know inside that we have not told the truth. That is the little voice called conscience. We are learning to listen to it. The President doesn’t seem to listen to his sometimes. If we want friends, we cannot lie, call people names, and hate them. Can we? We are confused. Is it okay or not?

Sincerely,

Cameron, Emily, Kaitlyn, Tobias, Josephine, Zoe, Tessa, Camden and Bennett

This press release was produced by members of the Unitarian Church In Westport. The views expressed here are the author's own.