An open letter to our children’s children

Jude Glass September 28, 2026

An Open Letter to Our Children’s Children – A Cautionary Tale

I want you to know that at least some of us tried to stop the madness.

We spent our time and energy and resources trying to get our families, friends, and neighbors to take notice. Our democracy was dissolving like a sugar cube in tepid tea; slowly at first, and then all at once. We wrote letters to our representatives and carried signs in the streets. We attended rallies and passed out flyers. We stood together in nonviolent protest, our children in tow, singing “God Bless America” while federal agents assaulted us with tear gas and shot some of us dead.

We were in the minority, but not the way you might think. Yes, there were those who directly opposed us. People who were raised to believe that democracy was not intended for everyone, only a select few. People who believed that to live the American dream, a person must be the “correct” color and sex and gender. Only those who prayed to their God, steeped in their dogma, could be considered a true American. And although those who opposed us believed that our compassionate, nonviolent movement would be struck down by their embrace of blood and hate and rage, they were not the ones who defeated us.

We were defeated by inertia. We were defeated by the part of the human mind that cannot fathom the possibility that tomorrow could be any different than today. We were unable to get all the Americans who opposed tyranny in principle to oppose it in their daily lives. All the signs were there to see, but most would not look up from their phones to take it in. Every day, a new assault to our freedoms, rights, and senses, until most Americans became so numb to the onslaught, they barely took notice. All of them, proverbial frogs in the pot, water temperature rising slowly to a boil. Some were too busy trying to survive to pay attention. Some were too busy being comfortable. Most said, “Oh, that’ll never happen” or “He can’t do that. It’s not legal.”  

But he did do that. He didn’t care that it wasn’t legal. There was no one in government able or willing to stop him, and though we tried, our numbers were too small to make a difference.

In the end, the tyrant and his regime took full control of every aspect of our lives. There were tanks in the streets, no food or clean water. Doctors and medicine were for the wealthy, not for the rest of us. The public lands were sold off to mining and timber companies. Small businesses collapsed and banks failed.

In hindsight, we can see our missteps and mistakes. It’s not that we were too loving or too kind. As the oppressed we were careful not to become that which we hated. No, our biggest mistake was allowing the noise and chaos of our oppressors to deafen us. Most of us just stopped paying attention. Those of us who did pay attention began fighting with one another. It was as if the oppressor’s hostility permeated the atmosphere so that even the most loving amongst us began to turn our backs on anyone who had even a slightly different point of view than our own. We were unable to unite as one people. Some of us truly did our best, but there were not enough of us to bring everyone together.

And so, we fell.

We are gone now and cannot know for sure what you have made of the shattered world we left for you. Our spirits weep thinking of the suffering you may be enduring due to our failure. I can only dream that you will succeed where we failed. I pray you learn from our mistakes; that you will rise up as one people, united in your efforts to break the shackles of oppression, and that freedom and justice for ALL people will be a dream no longer.