The Wise Elder

By W. F. Twyman, Jr.

Tonight, let’s talk about the duty of a wise elder. My thoughts are coalescing on this point. I do not have the final word as of yet. However, it seems to me one duty of a wise elder is to speak absolute truth. When I used a bad word in the first grade, my wise elder, Mrs. Lucille Walker, rapped my knuckles in front of the class. She did not spare my feelings. She told me to never use profanity again. It was a moment of character and I have never cursed since that day back in 1967. In the second grade, my wise elder, Grandma, reprimanded me for fighting with my best friend. She looked into my eyes and said, we do not fight in this family. My feelings were not spared because my Grandma cared about my future as an adult, not my tears as a seven-year-old child.

We have lost the importance of being a wise elder in the lives of young children.

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You might say, “That’s a pretty bold statement.” “What is your basis for this argument?” “Feelings matter more than self-discipline nowadays. Didn’t you get the anti-racist memo from Professor (made up name) Ibram X. Kendi? It amuses me to hear podcaster Sarah Haider who grew up in the Muslim faith in Pakistan stumble over the name “Ibram.” Topic for another essay.

A group has created a Black Lives Matter At School Curriculum for children in grade school. And I quote, “National Black Lives Matter at School is an organization struggling for liberation and racial justice in education for Black youth, educators, and all youth of color.” If one truly cares about the adult lives of children, one would keep one’s distance from this curriculum. Every sentence is drowning in slogan words — “Black Lives Matter” (how about lives matter?), “struggling” (how about achieving?), “liberation” (didn’t know I was living in a third world country bent on revolution), “racial justice” (what does this empty phrase mean?), “collective” (more young children should learn to resist the collective and become non-conformers). A parent or grandparent who wants the best for their children will avoid this curriculum and engage in Black Flight to more normal and uplifting curriculum.

It is the duty of a wise elder to say as much. When one sees educators and education school professors traveling down the wrong road, it is the job of a wise elder to step in and say, no, I disagree and my child will not be cannon fodder in your revolutionary transformation. A wise elder might choose home schooling as two of my friends who are black moms have done.

No self-respecting parent wants their children exposed to dehumanizing dogma in the classrooms. One didn’t learn Blackness is Oppression, Nothing else Matters from me! Wise elders should say these things with absolute clarity. Mrs. Lucille Walker did not use wishy-washy words as she rapped my knuckles in the first grade. Grandma did not view me as an oppressed victim as she set me on a proper life course in the second grade.

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To be a wise elder in someone’s life, dear reader, be Rocky —

“Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard ya hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done! Now if you know what you’re worth then go out and get what you’re worth. But ya gotta be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers saying you ain’t where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody! Cowards do that and that ain’t you! You’re better than that! I’m always gonna love you no matter what. No matter what happens. You’re my son and you’re my blood. You’re the best thing in my life. But until you start believing in yourself, ya ain’t gonna have a life. “

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Conclusion: Ditch the National Black Lives Matter at School Curriculum. Life is easy for no one. Lives matter everywhere. Have the courage of truth of your first grade teacher and the foresight of your Grandma in second grade. Be a wise elder for someone.