Pediatrician apologizes to baby for the war the adult world is waging against his generation

A phrase that’s fallen out of favor as “woke” becomes the new standard is “bleeding-heart liberal.” Being a bleeding-heart liberal means you need to walk a thin line — your compassion invokes resentment and anger. Liberals more recently have leaned heavily into the anger; maybe that’s why you don’t hear the phrase much anymore.

The Detroit Free Press has a piece by Flint, Michigan pediatrician Mona Hanna-Attisha arguing that “we’re” waging war on children and it has to stop. Waging war on children only reminds us of Greta Thunberg angrily spitting out the words “how DARE you” … how dare adults ruin the futures of young people like her? (Capitalism is primarily to blame.)

“I started speaking to the baby in my arms. I apologized for the gun violence, the poisoned planet, the toxic poverty. I apologized that the adult world was waging war against his generation.”https://t.co/kCIqSMDCg3

— Mona Hanna-Attisha (@MonaHannaA) February 22, 2023

Hanna Attisha writes about her experience as a pediatrician:

I started speaking to the baby in my arms. I apologized for the gun violence, the poisoned planet, the toxic poverty. I apologized that the adult world was waging war against his generation. I told him that he has a right to grow up healthy, safe and happy. I told him that I love him.

If only I could prescribe love, but I can’t. There is no magic pill. We need to consciously, whole-heartedly commit to our kids. We need to view our policies and practices through a child-centric lens so that we are serving their needs, not those of gun makers or polluters or craven politicians.

It means proactively working to protect kids from the many preventable traumas − seen and unseen − that we are subjecting them to and giving them grace and empathy when we fall short. It means building a robust society that centers our children so they can be kids in the best sense and fulfill their dreams.

How do we get there? Science and the best practices of peer nations tell us what works: restore the full Child Tax Credit; expand free high-quality early education; strengthen environmental protections and commit to an all-of-society climate change moonshot; reduce racial and class inequalities; create great jobs that provide dignity and stability; invest in public health; and embrace universal healthcare access. And finally, of course, enact gun control legislation that at a minimum includes universal background checks, child safety protections, and an assault weapons ban.