Our kids have what it takes

Say it with us: Darn kids.

Don't work hard enough.

Spend too much time on that social media junk.

Don't agree with us enough.

And let us add one more thing: Bless these blasted kids, because they've got something many of us didn't have when we were teens; not in the measure they possess, anyway.

Empathy.

Where we have crust, these kids have sensitive skin.

Where our hearts might grow cold, theirs beat warm. These darned kids actually care about each other, respect each other, even when they could hardly be more different or have clashing perspectives about things like religion, politics, even sexual orientation.

This empathic nature isn't just our rose-colored observation, either. It's one of the key conclusions of Steve Wessler, an internationally respected human rights expert who has been working with Coeur d'Alene School District since last fall.

Wessler, who will speak to the community tonight at 7 at the Kroc Center, isn't some wishy-washy, feel-good apologist for what you might consider aberrant or even deviant behavior. As you'll learn, he respects your beliefs, your values, your perspectives. But this former prosecutor whose work has taken him to the heart of ethnically splintered Kosovo, to the middle of the Irish-English/Catholic-Protestant conflict in Northern Ireland, even to remote and, in the minds of some, backward parts of our own country, has zero tolerance for those who would put our children in harm's way. For Wessler, safety of our children, all of our children, is far and away the highest priority in the human rights work to which he's dedicated his life.

Wessler will talk tonight about how he's seen many of the tell-tale signs that our kids are not unlike kids almost everywhere else. Bullying happens here. Derogatory, offensive language is on ample display. Girls are groped and grabbed inappropriately. Bad things are said, and bad things are done.

But Wessler gives our kids exceptionally high marks in the categories of courage and empathy - an invaluable combination. He's moved by how much our children care about the hurt - physical, emotional, intellectual - others can put on their peers. That's one of the reasons Wessler has so much hope for our community in battling the problems every other community faces, but in our case, likely with greater success.

We have our fair share of knuckleheads, no question. But we obviously have something else: Big people setting a good example for kids, nurturing compassion in them that allows them to walk a mile in somebody else's shoes.

So here's the deal. Kids, help us older folks nurture our innate empathic nature, and we'll show you how to roll up your sleeves and work a little harder.