TikTok

I saw a t-shirt today that stopped me in my tracks. It read:

"America will fight for an app like TikTok, but it will not fight for safe schools for our children. It will not fight for free lunches for our underserved and underprivileged children. It will not fight for better education."

That hit me like a gut punch. It made me pause. It made me angry. It made me wonder—how did we get here? How did we become a nation that will mobilize, scream, and fight for things that do not determine our survival, while turning our backs on the most fundamental needs of our children?

This isn’t about TikTok. This isn’t about guns. It’s about misplaced priorities. It’s about a country that has forgotten what truly matters.

The Battles We Choose

Look at what sparks national outrage:

• A potential TikTok ban? Millions flood Congress with calls, influencers stage protests, and companies spend fortunes lobbying.
• A perceived attack on gun rights? Lines form outside gun stores, politicians double down, and constitutional arguments flood every social media platform.

Now compare that to the life-or-death issues our children face every single day:

• Gun violence in schools? Thoughts. Prayers. Maybe a short-lived debate. Then silence.
• Millions of children going hungry? Some murmurs of concern. No real action.
• Teachers leaving in droves due to abysmal pay? A few speeches about "respecting educators." No systemic change.

The energy we devote to things that don’t define our children’s futures is staggering. The energy we deny them is criminal.

The Numbers Don’t Lie

This isn’t opinion. This is reality:

• Gun Violence in Schools: There have been over 2,000 school shootings in the U.S. since 1970, with the numbers skyrocketing in recent years. We lead the world in school-related gun violence. Not by a little. By a lot.
• Child Poverty: In 2023, child poverty doubled in just one year after pandemic relief programs ended. More than 16% of American children now live in poverty. That’s millions of kids who don’t know if they’ll eat today.
• Education Rankings: The U.S. ranks 36th in math and 13th in reading among developed nations. Meanwhile, teachers—some of the most critical people in shaping our future—are quitting because they can’t afford to stay.

But hey, let’s talk more about whether TikTok is a national security threat.

What This Says About Us

We are a nation that cares deeply—about the wrong things.

We let our children go hungry. We let them be gunned down in their classrooms. We let their schools crumble while billionaires debate over social media regulations.

And yet, we will take to the streets for an app. We will fight for the right to own weapons that massacre them.

The Hard Truth

America, we need to wake up. Not with tweets. Not with petitions. With real, relentless action. Because the truth is, if we fought for children the way we fight for apps and arsenals, we wouldn’t be here.

If we put the same energy into fixing schools as we do into defending platforms, our children wouldn’t be failing. If we fought as hard for feeding hungry kids as we do for corporate interests, we wouldn’t be a country where millions of children go to bed hungry.

It’s not that these other battles don’t matter. It’s that they should never overshadow the most basic human responsibilities we have: keeping our kids safe, fed, and educated.

We are better than this. Aren’t we?

So Now What?

What will it take? A movement? A crisis so big it can’t be ignored? Or will we keep looking away, distracted by the latest trending debate, while our future dies—literally and figuratively—in the background?

I know where I stand. The question is: where do you?

Thanks for reading,

William Rochelle, but you can call me Bill

#Priorities #AmericaWakeUp #ProtectOurChildren #EducationMatters #StopSchoolViolence #FightForKidsNotApps #TikTok #elonmusk