In the nine days since President-elect Donald Trump won a very contentious election against Hillary Clinton, emotions have been running high in households in every corner of the country.
Parents and children alike are reacting to his election in both good and bad ways. Now, thanks to one mom, children across the country are using their voices to ask the new president-elect to be kind.
The idea started when Molly Spence Sahebjami’s 5-year-old son became concerned about what Donald Trump was saying about Muslims, due to the fact that the family had relatives of Iranian descent.
Sahebjami told her son that he should write a letter to Trump and ask him to be kind. She told The Washington Post, “It was very simplistic, at a 5-year-old level, where I started.”
The letter her 5-year-old dictated to her read: “Dear President-elect Trump, please be a good president. Be kind to all people. Some people in my family are a special religion, and they are not bad guys.”
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Encouraged by her son’s letter, Sahebjami created a private online Facebook group called “Dear President Trump: Letters from Kids About Kindness,” where members could share their children’s letters. She also encouraged individuals to share their children’s letters on social media with the hashtag #kidsletterstotrump.
The group started with 200 of her friends, all with different political leanings, and has grown to over 9,000 members in just over eight days.
At the top of the private group, Sahebjami’s post reads:
Welcome, everyone. This is a group created by parents of young children. We’re starting a multi-partisan, global grassroots campaign called “Dear President Trump: Letters from Kids About Kindness.”
Here is the idea:
* Children up to age 18 write letters to President-Elect Trump about the importance of being kind to other people, even if they’re different than you are.
* It’s great if kids can tell their own story, and how this issue is important to them personally.
* Please, keep it positive. The letters should be kind in tone and non-partisan. Consider this as your opportunity to persuade.
* Take a picture of the letter and post it in this group. (We suggest leaving your mailing address off the publicly shared image.)
* It’s great if you can post the picture of the letter on your own Facebook page and other social media channels, too, with the hashtag #kidsletterstotrump.
* Mail the letter to President-Elect Donald Trump (and if desired, the incoming First Lady Melania Trump too), Trump Tower, 725 5th Ave, NY, NY 10022.
* This is an experiment – we’ll see what happens!
Now, letters to Trump are popping up on social media, all with one message – please be kind.
#kidsletterstotrump 13 yrs old and gracious beyond her years. This was the day after, with tears flowing down her face. #wearewatching pic.twitter.com/2zbj2PmvoB
— Lara (@larahollingswor) November 17, 2016
One concerned 6th-grader's letter to our President-elect. #kidsletterstotrump pic.twitter.com/IxSkOSwtKH
— Dan Bernstein (@dan_bernstein) November 10, 2016
#kidsletterstotrump pic.twitter.com/4PbPZEDTrh
— Mer569 (@mer569) November 17, 2016
#kidsletterstotrump pic.twitter.com/RF8Pwq1KZ9
— Alison McManus (@McManusAlison) November 13, 2016
Do you think this is a good idea? Why or why not?