5 THINGS TRUMP'S WIN TAUGHT MY 12-YEAR-OLD SON

TomWang112

By Anne Zeiser
Founder of Azure Media 
Author of  Transmedia Marketing: From Film and TV to Games and Digital Media

My son’s middle school pre-election vote was prescient. Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton by 7%. “Could this actually happen in real life?,” asked my 12- year-old. “Yes it could.” For more than a year, I have predicted that this outcome was likely. Ask my friends and family about the heated discussions at cookouts and holiday get-togethers. Most dismissed my theory that Trump would win because of the hidden, growing trend he represented and pandered to. I suspected the polls wouldn’t fully reveal this partially underground phenomenon. 

Now that it has come to pass, what to say to a kid who heard Trump’s “build a wall” statement in real time and called him on it vehemently? A kid who formed his own opinion of who was the better candidate, landing firmly on Hillary Clinton. So, when Trump became the President-elect, what could he learn from the loss of his chosen candidate?



These are my suggested takeaways:

1. Life isn’t fair. It never has been and it never will be. The sooner and the more deeply you learn this, the better-equipped you will be to handle life. “So what?” if a kid stole your ball, the teacher blamed you for something you didn’t do, a colleague presented your idea as his, or your candidate didn’t win? The takeaway: Decide how you are you going to handle it. Are you going to blame your current circumstances on external forces?  Are you going to dwell on the fact that it’s unjust? Or, are you going to translate that ire into resolve to do something about it… starting now? 

2. Find the good in people. Are all of Trump’s supporters, bigots, misogynists, and haters? Probably not. But they’re all scared. They’re afraid of losing something precious — their economic or social standing. We know how swiftly fear brings out the worst in people. We saw the rise of fear in Nazi Europe and we saw FDR brilliantly allay it when the Great Depression descended upon this country. The takeaway: Work hard to understand what people are afraid of. Is it fear of lost jobs, diminished quality of life, or “otherness?” Once fear’s understood, you can combat it – by demonstrating how rising tides raise all boats or how we all share a common human experience. 

3. Understand that you have power.  Whether you’re a 12- or 87-year-old; a business owner or unemployed; a white male or a member of a disenfranchised group; you are powerful, especially in this country. You have rights. You have a voice. You have platforms. You have agency.  The takeaway: Every person’s actions matter. The greatest movements began with one person who inspired others to stand up for good. What you do in your life – no matter how seemingly insignificant – has a ripple effect on the people around you, and so on, and so on. Gather up your power and feel its strength.

4. Identify clearly what needs fixing. While there’s a lot to do to make the world a better place and it’s great to feel passionate about many things, you can’t fuel real change without identifying concrete problems and solutions.  What will ensure all Americans have equal rights under the law? How do we give everyone an opportunity to prosper? What measures will protect our planet from climate change? The takeaway: Find your cause(s) and identify the various ways to improve it. Some solutions involve top-down institutional or policy change. Others use bottom-up grassroots public pressure. Most use both. What elements of those solutions can you truly advance?  

5. Create a practical action plan.  Actions affect change. Your actions should be proportional to the concern you feel. If you think the long-standing future of the country is at stake, then make a long-standing commitment to getting involved. Progress requires hard, protracted work. You can sign a petition or post on social media, but will armchair activism be enough? The takeaway: Evaluate the most effective ways you can make a difference. Are you a strong writer or a tech guru? Can you lend your skills to like-minded people or groups? Perhaps you will shape your career to positively impact this world. Will you run for office? Invent something useful? Advocate for the needy?

In seeking lessons around the outcome of the recent election for my 12-year-old – a person old enough to understand what’s going on in the world, but not old enough to fully feel his agency in changing it – I learned a lot. Proof positive that parenting often teaches us more than we teach our children.  In that spirit I share what I hoped my son would learn during this exceptional time – a time that’s raw, but rife with opportunity.

This updated story also appeared in the HuffingtonPost.

_____________________________________________________________________

Anne Zeiser is a critically-acclaimed transmedia and social impact producer and media strategist. She's stewarded films and iconic series for PBS, produced news for CBS, managed national brands for marketing firms, and founded Azure Media, which develops transmedia projects on air, online, and on the go that fuel social impact in communities, in schools, and in capitals. With media partners from PBS and the BBC to Miramax and Sikelia Productions, Zeiser has successfully launched and marketed film studios and media organizations, feature and documentary films, television series and specials, mobile games and apps, and online video and media communities. She's the author of Transmedia Marketing: From Film and TV to Games and Digital Media from Focal Press' American Film Market® Presents book series. You can follow her at the book’s Web site or on Twitter @azuremedia.

ANIMALS - HELPERS AND HEROES IN SCARY TIMES

Curtis, the helper and hero

By Anne Zeiser
President and CEO 
Azure Media

When this Marathon Monday dawned a perfect day for über running, it put me in a great mood even though I’m not much of a runner. Marathon Day signals the “real” start of spring for New Englanders. It reminds Americans of our steely roots because it always falls on Patriots Day. It launches spring school vacation week in Massachusetts, And, it stirs my former professional connections to the event, having covered it for Boston’s CBS News affiliate (now NBC) and managed marketing client, the Boston Athletic Association’s 100th Anniversary activities.

So the holiday opened for me, my eight year old son, husband and dog with the lazy feel of a Sunday morning.  I lingered over coffee knowing there was no morning scramble to shower and catch the school bus. We’d decided to make it a TV-free day. We played the board game Life, I did a West Coast conference call and my husband puttered outside. In the early afternoon, with my son playing at my feet, I checked Facebook and learned about the bombings. Abandoning the family vow, I flipped on the TV, aghast at the barbarism at the “Hub’s” beloved Boston Marathon.

In just a few minutes, my “Mom” instincts overtook my journalist and news junkie instincts and I turned off the TV, knowing the cumulative effects of media. But in that short time, the fear and gruesome implications were already in sharp reveal. So, I decided to talk to my son about what had happened at the Marathon. In today's wired world, there's no shielding children completely from such harsh realities. Who could have guessed that I'd need to find words to comfort my son like after the Newtown, CT massacre -- twice in just six months?

As a former PBS-er, I went to my most trusted parenting source, PBS KIDS. It offered Mr. Rogers’ sage advice, in times of tragedy, "look for the helpers, you will always find people who are helping." I conveyed those thoughts to my son, while noting Rogers’ additional advice to the media to be sure to cover the “helpers.” I didn't know what my son felt or heard, but was glad to have Fred Rogers’ “helpful” words.

Then, we all went outside to get distance from the horror unfolding on the television. We planted bulbs, played catch with our dog, Curtis and took the bikes for a spin.  At bedtime, when I did a recheck with my son about the days’ events, he delivered a non-verbal signal of understanding and comfort, hugging Curtis, who was curled up at the end of the bed.

This vacation week I decided to send my son to our town's vacation community program in hopes that playtime with other kids would help him both separate from and process the atrocity he had “witnessed.” Yesterday was a bit better for everyone -- a day of healing with the President in Boston comforting victims, the city and the nation; suspects identified; and social media afire with sentiments of "Boston Strong." At the town’s vacation program, there were special visitors for the children, "Barn Babies," coincidently scheduled for that day. My son played with piglets, kids (goats), chicks, puppies and kittens. After that, he was the most relaxed I'd seen him since the atrocity happened. The animal babies had done their magic. 

This morning, unaware of the firefight and carjacking, we expected more healing and calm.  The call that went to voicemail at the crack of dawn from Emerson College (where I'm an adjunct professor) cancelling classes because the city was in lockdown, should have been a tip off. During breakfast, I turned on the TV to check on the weather and learned about the unimaginable developments with the two Marathon bomber suspects.

My son was visually shaken so I turned off the TV immediately. Only with a lot of coaxing did I learn of my son’s particular worry. (He's not too chatty about his anxieties or concerns). He explained that he was afraid that the “bad man” was going to come to our house. I quickly responded, “Oh no, the last place a bad guy on the run could hideout is a house with a cute white pup that barks when someone comes to the house.” A huge smile of relief came across my son's face. Curtis closed the love loop by licking my son’s hand. This sometimes-annoying canine practice of announcing visitors with loud barks had become my saving grace. In that moment of my son’s smile, Curtis had become my helper and my hero.

As a concerned parent, I’ve learned two things so far from the Boston Marathon tragedy. First, make sure you work hard to understand your kids’ specific fears so you can address them directly to make them feel safer. And second, look everywhere for the “helpers” because they may come in many forms. From the Marathon runners donating blood right after the race and BAA personnel, volunteers' and bystanders' rushing toward the smoke to first responders' swift and steady actions and medical staff working tirelessly through several nights.

And in our case, the “helper” took the shape of a medium-sized lab mix, Curtis, who celebrates his fourth anniversary of adoption from the Northeast Animal Shelter in Salem, MA – tomorrow. 

This post was inspired by my interview in this week's Huffington Post's Parenting page.