A Young Man and His Sign
Dear Leading Ladies,
A young man holding a Trump flag amidst a throng of No Kings protesters, looking more than a little defiant, had a kind of “make me leave” attitude on his face. He clearly had an invisible fence around himself, with powerful projectiles protecting him from others and others from him. He planted himself, wide leg stance, with his arms stretched out to make the flag taut. An older man started to yell into the young man’s face. The Trump supporter’s stance became more solid. A young woman, standing next to the Trump supporter, yelled out “Free Speech.” She moved aside and another woman standing near started chatting with the young man. We don’t know what was said. Perhaps she asked why he was there, what he believed in, what he thought was right and wrong about what is going on in the country, and how he thought Trump is fixing it.
Suddenly, the young man’s force field seemed to disappear. His shoulders visibly relaxed, the grip on his flag loosened and his stance became less rigid. The flag gradually became full of wrinkles and difficult to read. The two chatted for a while and then each went their own way.
When we heard this story from a supporter, it was hard not to think of the sign we saw at the Beverly protest: “Make America Kind Again.” We are not naive. We know there are no simple answers to the problems we face today. But we also know that many young people in our country are disaffected and disconnected, and this kind of anomie can lead to antisocial and dangerous behavior.
The COVID pandemic is credited with some of the problems. According to a March 2025 report from Gallup, their latest tracking poll found that “45% of parents of school-age children say the pandemic has had a negative impact on their child’s social skills development. Half of them, 22%, report the social difficulty is ongoing, while the other half, 23%, say it has eased. Similarly, 42% of these parents say their child’s mental health has been negatively affected by the pandemic, including 21% who say the issue persists.” These negative social effects far surpassed reported physical or academic ill effects.
Yet, a year earlier, Robert Pondiscio, writing for the Fordham University Institute, concluded that the pandemic was only part of the problem. He describes “a new generation: disengaged, aimless, and adrift.” While the pandemic made students used to optional attendance at Zoom classes and families became used to having young people at home to care for needy relatives, Pondiscio believes absenteeism rose as the idea of school became optional. He believes “It fits a larger pattern of young people absenting themselves not just from school, but from life.” School is important, too, he notes, because it is where children socialize and learn to live with one another among their peers. It’s what kids “do together.”
Compounding the problem are an increased teacher absenteeism and grade inflation.
There are lots of theories out there and some good research that needs time to yield results. Recently, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) fired hundreds of staff, including specialists who track suicide trends and research gun violence prevention. In other words, research that could help us understand and treat young, troubled youth has been scrapped.
Luckily, there are some private research and service programs around. One is the Rural Behavioral Health Institute (RBHI), based in Montana. Its mission is “to reduce suicide and improve mental health outcomes among youth by building a school-based mental health system in rural America that includes mental health screening and robust mental health services” RBHI partners with rural schools to “identify middle and high school students who may need support via screening.” Then they help these young people connect with “quality help and services.” A great program, based on research, funded privately, and delivering services to a recognized at risk population.
The only problem is that as Dr. Anthony Fauci, former adviser to the president and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said recently at the Boston Speakers Series, private funding can come nowhere close to adequately providing the money needed to underwrite the research we need.
Furthermore, private funding means the research undertaken is determined by the interests of the funders. What happens when the deepest pockets don’t care about autism or drug addiction among teens, new treatments for depression among youth, or the higher rates of cancer in low-income communities? Easy answer. Those problems won’t get addressed.
So here we are. Distressed by the disaffection of our youth. Grateful for programs such as HRBI. And newly aware that a little kindness can soften hearts.
That’s something.
Therese (she/her/hers)
Judy (she/her/hers)
Didi (she/her/hers)
Leading Ladies Executive Team
Leadingladiesvote.org
ladies@leadingladiesvote.org