Dear Republican Candidates.

Dear Republican Candidates,

To give you some brief background, I am a 32 year old voter from Idaho. I grew up in a conservative, Christian family. As an adult, I still hold true to the majority of the political and conservative beliefs I was raised with- not because I haven't found my own beliefs yet, but because I truly believe in them. I am young enough that I don't remember too many campaigns. I really only distinctly remember Obama's campaigns. He swept the nation! At the time, I was a college student and I remember feeling like I was the only young person who didn't jump on the Obama band wagon. Now as a young adult, I often still feel that way.

Now, we are here. I thought it would be a hopeful time. Our time.

At first, I was hopeful to see a breath of fresh air; conservatives representing a balance of all issues with dignity and respect. I was hopeful to not feel like the only one not jumping on a liberal band wagon. I was hopeful to see conservative, Americans not painted as prudes. I was hopeful.

Now, we are here.

We are months into your campaigns. I have watched debates and read articles. I have listened to friends debate all sides of the issues. I will be the first to admit that I don't fully understand all the aspects to the issues, political games, or how to run a campaign, but I do know that as I sit and listen to all sides, my stomach starts to churn and I feel sick.

I feel sick because while you are spouting your mouths about stupid twitter comments and building walls that don't matter, I think about the following:

-My brother who lives pay check to pay check because his medical bills are too much for a 29 year old to manage.

-My parents who did the very best they could to help others in their lifetime of ministry, but who won't be able to retire. They are getting older. How will I care for them when they are too old to take care of themselves?

-My grandma who lives in a care facility and forgets pieces of her life every day. The elderly matter.

-I worry about how I will get ahead financially because I'm just a teacher and it seems like money only gets to those with business degrees. Money will always be an issue.

But most of all, I think about my students. I teach the lowest 10th percentile of readers in the 7th and 8th grade. Some struggle to read and write a paragraph while others just simply can't. These students come to school and work hard to become readers. It is SO hard for them, but they try their hardest because they believe that hard work pays off. I see these faces every day and I wonder if they really will become successful when they grow up, not because they won't be able to read, because they WILL! but because I wonder if any of us really feel "successful" in America anymore. Will they attain the "American dream"? What does that even mean now days? I tell them everyday they can if they keep their minds stuck to what matters, but then I remember that our leaders can't even do that... so my stomach starts to churn again.

Those are the faces I wish you would think about before you open your mouth to talk about issues that just honestly don't hit close to home. I invite you, please come into my classroom and see these students working hard to learn how to read. I bet your "issues" would change and your campaign games would look differently. The youth of our nation are our future, right?

I guess to sum it up, I simply ask that before you have another debate, could you please think about the faces that matter? The faces that truly are our American future.

Sincerely,
A Concerned Conservative