#29: Ameria's Youth Panel

What happens when young adults refuse to stay silent and instead stand firm on their convictions? This episode of Stand shines a spotlight on Landon Gatliff, Sarah Price, and Reagan Hurley, three brave individuals who didn't back down when faced with opposition. Landon talks about his bold stance on presenting a biblical perspective in his science classroom, while Sarah recounts her fierce challenge to her school board’s decisions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Their stories highlight the power of standing firm in one's beliefs with a foundation of love and respect.

Join us as a youth panel candidly discusses the decline of American values and the critical role of self-education in combating this trend. We delve into the importance of understanding history, constitutional rights, and government operations to become well-informed citizens capable of meaningful civil discourse. The panel shares personal reflections on maintaining faith and determination amid slander and lost friendships, offering their insights on how the younger generation can overcome these challenges by asking questions and standing united.

In this compelling episode, the influence of mentorship and community support comes to life through personal anecdotes and practical advice. From overcoming bullying and racism to challenging societal narratives, our guests demonstrate the transformative power of courage and collective action. Discover how adults can empower young voices by investing in their growth and making space for their perspectives. Tune in to be inspired by stories of resilience and learn how faith and strong role models can help shape a brighter future for all.

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Transcript

Kelly Tshibaka: 0:08

Welcome to Stand, your weekly audio adrenaline supplement. I'm Kelly Tshibaka, your host, former candidate for US Senate in Alaska and a government watchdog, and I'm joined today by my awesome co-host, Josiah Tshibaka. My son, a almost to be high school graduate and heading off to college Way to rock it. So excited to have you with us. We are at stanshoworg. That's where you can watch all of our amazing episodes. Catch us on social media and become one of our awesome standouts. We'd love to have you hit, subscribe and join us so that you can help us make courage contagious.

Kelly Tshibaka: 0:47

Speaking of making courage contagious, I've been thinking about how standing up for what you believe and being courageous isn't just reserved for people who have reached maturity. I know Well, I see, how you take a stand regularly and do courageous things, and that made me think that there are other people like you across our state and our country. Yes, while I think you are exceptional, you are not the last Jedi. I know and I know, so I thought it would be awesome for us to have on today other people who are young adults taking a courageous stand for what they believe. We've had young adults taking a courageous stand for what they believe. We've had young adults through history do that. You know, like Alexander Hamilton and Joan of Arc, and the list goes on and on. Malala is kind of current generation person and so, with that in mind, I'm pleased to have this show full of young adults across the country who are doing amazing things and taking a stand.

Kelly Tshibaka: 1:42

We've got Landon Gatliff, Sarah Price and Reagan Hurly. Landon is an entrepreneur in Arkansas, self-described common sense conservative. We're happy to have him with us. Sarah Price formerly served as the youth representative on the Anchorage, alaska Municipal Assembly and she also served for the mayor on the Youth Advisory Commission. Then she went off to the mayor on the Youth Advisory Commission, then she went off to the Air Force Academy. Reagan currently attends Texas A&M University gig ‘em, and is a political science major where he serves as an officer for the Political Science Aggies.

Kelly Tshibaka: 2:16

All three of these amazing young adults are proud to be dedicated Jesus followers. They've shown courage, remain steadfast in their convictions and for what they believe, and I'm so excited to talk with all of you today about your experiences, standing for your convictions and for your faith. So welcome Landon, Sarah and Reagan. We're so excited to have you all on stand. All right, let's jump in. You guys can unmute your microphones. I know it's hard to decide who's going to talk first because all of you are with us at the same time, but if you could jump in and we want to hear a little bit for telling us about a time that you had to stand for what you believed in. And, Landon, let's start with you. I know you've had a lot of experiences in Arkansas.

Landon Gatliff: 3:05

Can you share with us about a time you've had to stand for what you believe in, and when that was hard, absolutely so. One of the times that I had to stand up was in my science class. So we were on the topic of the Big Bang and talking about evolutionary science and the word billions of billions of billions of years got dropped. So me and my science teacher entered into a discussion and I asked her her okay, how old do you think the Earth is? She said that she believes that it is billions and billions of years old. I told her I do not believe in this. I have a biblical footprint that I believe in. So if you were to think about it in the bubble terms, earth is only 6,000 to 7,000 years old old, and this is what I believe. So you can look at the genealogical records and pinpoint how old this.

Landon Gatliff: 3:51

There are some christians who try to fit billions of billions of years old between the days of creation, but on day three, plants were created and on day four, the sun, moon and earth excuse me, the sun, moon and stars were created. And on day four, the sun, moon and earth excuse me, the sun, moon and stars were created. So the billions of years doesn't make sense in that context, because how would the plant survive without the sun? So the important thing is to remember is, whenever you're responding in situations like this is to respond in a position of love and not aggression.

Kelly Tshibaka: 4:23

How did your science teacher respond?

Landon Gatliff: 4:27

She was a little taken aback and she said that I was asking her two personal questions.

Kelly Tshibaka: 4:36

Oh, interesting.

Josiah Tshibaka: 4:37

That's a really interesting response, frankly.

Kelly Tshibaka: 4:41

To take creation personally.

Josiah Tshibaka: 4:43

I didn't think that common core science education is personal.

Kelly Tshibaka: 4:50

What was that Landon?

Landon Gatliff: 4:52

I didn't think that it was a very personal question. Anyone who knows me knows that I ask questions on everything.

Kelly Tshibaka: 5:00

Sarah, tell us about a time you had to stand up for something you believe, Sarah tell us about time you had to stand up for something you believe.

Sarah Price: 5:11

So I think my wake up moment for our society was during 2020, towards the end of it. So this is after COVID broke and our local community had dealt with it, and going into the fall semester, most everyone in our community really did think we had a good chance of going back to school. Most everyone in our community really did think we had a good chance of going back to school, and eventually our school board decided that they were shutting down schools again, even though a lot of schools in our nation stayed open. And I just saw the looks on my friends' faces, I saw my siblings' faces, my own personal emotions on it, and something just didn't sit right with me. I looked around the community and at our circumstances and I did not think it was right that we were closing school. So I started to look into the facts of it and I started looking at the COVID numbers. I started looking into what other districts were doing and the actions of our school board just did not make sense and so I started to ask questions. I asked them questions, I asked the superintendent questions and I started calling them out when they were making decisions that were not in the well-being of the students that they were entrusted in.

Sarah Price: 6:13

And as I continued down that path, I unfortunately came to a lot of really just sad kind of conclusions about the people who are running our local government and the corruption really that is in it, and I saw how youth, how our lives, our mental health, our wellbeing, our futures were being used as a political token. And that was kind of the first moment when I stood up and I said this is not right. What did you do? Well, at first it started with a lot of research and then eventually I went and I started testifying every other week to their school board about the impact that their actions were having on students. And then from there, after I realized that the school board truly just didn't care about what they were doing to the student body, I went to our local assembly, which is our legislative branch, and I found a similar end there.

Kelly Tshibaka: 7:09

Yeah, we all saw that play out here in Anchorage. But you did a great job. I think it's important for people who listen to the show to know that just because you take a stand doesn't mean that you always get the outcome that you want. But I think taking a stand still makes an impact and a difference, because I think you would agree that what Sarah Price did on our assembly and taking on all of the people who enforce mask mandates and shut down our schools and our small businesses and everything across Anchorage absolutely that pushback from somebody who was in high school reverberated through the entire state. You got statewide media coverage for the stand that you took and it's still. The echoes of that remnant still exist today and I think, are having an effect even in the elections of 2024. So you did a great job with the stand that you took. Let me transition over to Reagan. Reagan, can you tell us a story about a time you had to take a stand in today's modern culture?

Reagan Hurly: 8:10

Yeah, so back in 2021, I had a podcast called Let's Talk Christianity where I talked about very controversial topics, and one specifically was abortion, and I talked about how that was wrong through the lens of Christianity and especially through science as well. I interviewed an obstetrician for it. I did some research with some pastors about how biblically that was wrong and some other statistics, and also answering some common questions or, I guess, gotcha points that pro-abortion people have. But I got a lot of backlash for that. I had people emailing me saying they wish I'd die, saying that they want my whole family to die.

Reagan Hurly: 8:56

During Halloween, a bunch of people dressed up as me and went around surrounding neighborhoods talking about how horrible of a person I was, and went around surrounding neighborhoods talking about how horrible of a person I was, going around to my community and slandering my name. I lost most of my friends because of that. So it it definitely was not a great time, but I definitely learned who who really were my friends and who were not, and it was sad in the moment, but I'm so proud that I stood up for what, what I believe in and you know what is truth and what is right and just.

Kelly Tshibaka: 9:29

Wow. So how did you handle that? How did you come through that and like, persevere onto the other side to be healthy, happy and whole?

Reagan Hurly: 9:39

I mean just knowing that I'm doing what the Lord wants me to do and I'm operating through him and with him, and I'm walking with him, and that's, you know, the only person, that I'm doing what the Lord wants me to do, and I'm operating through him and with him, and I'm walking with him, and that's, you know, the only person that I, you know, want to please. That is the person that you know I want to do his willing for you know my, my thoughts are aligned according to his will. So that is something that's very important to me and, while it's really sad in the moment, you know, to lose you know, friends, what's important to me. You know bits and pieces of my community. I put my faith in the Lord and I trust in him that you know I will have a new community that's for me and, you know, for my faith, and that they're yoked with me. So that's that is really what helps me.

Kelly Tshibaka: 10:20

That's good. How about you?

Josiah Tshibaka: 10:23

A stand that I've taken? Yeah, hmm, that's good. How about you? A stand that I've taken? Yeah, I mean, after interviewing Mr Prager on this podcast, one of the things I started to do was just put all of our content out there for all of my peers to see which did not.

Kelly Tshibaka: 10:40

It's not our normal audience demographic.

Josiah Tshibaka: 10:43

No, not at all. Not at all, and it's definitely increased tensions with a lot of people and has made jobs that I've been working on, things I've had to do harder. But I also know I don't go and put out all of our content. I go and I put out the things that I'm like these are the things people need to see. These are the things people need to see. These are the things people need to hear. This is, these are the points that if I were in a conversation with them, I would make myself and things that I would want them to hear.

Josiah Tshibaka: 11:14

So just being bold with what I believe, and not not backing down on any frontier, I would say If you can't stand up for little small things, if you can't stand up to a keyboard warrior, you're not going to stand up to a Goliath.

Kelly Tshibaka: 11:30

That's good, I like that. Well, this is Stand with Kelly and Niki Tshibaka, my host today. My co-host is Josiah Tshibaka. We've got our youth panel with us. Stay with us onto the other side of the break and, while on break, make sure to hit subscribe at standshoworg. We'd be happy to have you as one of our fantastic standouts.

Josiah Tshibaka: 11:55

We'll be right back, stand by you're back on stand with kelly and today joe sajbaka with us. Today we have Landon, Sarah and Reagan. We're interviewing a youth panel and we're going to talk a little bit about the decline of American values in our youth today. So, Sarah, could you tell us where or how have you experienced a decline in American values in your peers?

Sarah Price: 12:31

Well, I think it really is important to outline the fact that a decline in American values in the youth is a reflection of society and through my time in local government and such, I found that most of it came down to a fact of not being educated, not knowing what our history is, not knowing what constitutional rights we are given, not knowing what your government is not allowed to do. So for me, I got a lot of questions from the youth when I was speaking out. They, first off, were like we're allowed to do that and then, second off, a lot of them were questioning the things I was saying. They're like well, that's not what my senator said, that's not what my assembly person said, that's not what the school board is saying. And then I explain the facts behind it, or how you do research, how you can even check yourself.

Sarah Price: 13:16

I explained the laws and our state constitution on what these governing officials are not allowed to do, and it was just the fact that a lot of youth didn't even understand that these were principles that our society is led by, because they've been put to the wayside quite a bit. So it's not really the youth's fault that we're not being adequately educated on American history on how government is supposed to work on our individual rights. But it is our responsibility now, in a society that doesn't educate us as much as they should on these issues, it's our responsibility to get out there to research these things and spread it when we can. It's those discussions and it's an increase in civil discourse that I think is going to be able to help our next generation.

Kelly Tshibaka: 14:03

That's a good point, Like one of the solutions is just simply education for younger generations. I remember you and your sister telling me that you went all the way through your educational history, your academic career, and never learned about World War II in school right.

Josiah Tshibaka: 14:19

Not in depth, no.

Kelly Tshibaka: 14:21

Yeah, and then all that education really came from home because we had grandparents who fought in World War II, so it was important for us to pass on. It's a really good point, sarah.

Josiah Tshibaka: 14:31

Landon, I want to pivot over to you. What's your take on the decline in American values in our youth?

Landon Gatliff: 14:38

Absolutely so. First we have to realize why there is a decline. Simply put, it starts in our homes, and this is not something that just happened like that. It's something that's happened over generations and generations. A huge part of the decline is parents not taking responsibility for installing a strong foundation in their children. American values start in our homes and it's the parents responsibilities to install a strong foundation in their children, and it seems that we've lost a sense of black and white thought process saying, oh, this is right unless it makes you feel bad. What was once wrong is now considered right and vice versa. That's why we have men now going out in public and wearing dresses, or little Susie going to school saying she's a cat and how dare you if you give her a weird look or if you don't accommodate her. It seems now that we have like no basis of anything tangible. The solution is we need to empower reality instead of empowering fantasies.

Josiah Tshibaka: 15:44

I like that. Empower the reality of the American dream, you know.

Kelly Tshibaka: 15:48

Yeah, that's good, that's a really good line.

Josiah Tshibaka: 15:50

Reagan, what's your take?

Reagan Hurly: 15:53

Yeah. So education, I really think, is where I see the biggest decline, especially with my experience through college having professors talk about how masculinity is toxic and, you know, kind of saying that we need to bring sex education into kindergarten and first grade. I really think that's a very big breakdown of what society is and as well as as I believe what Sarah was talking or what Landon was talking about the breakdown of the family. You know, having so many single parent households, it's very difficult to instill, you know, discipline into our youth today. And I'd also really like to read an excerpt from the 1958 Naked Communists, if that's okay, talking about how the current communist goals in the Cold War and how that kind of translates to today.

Reagan Hurly: 16:50

So 13 was do away with all loyalty oaths. 17 was get control of the schools. Use them as transmission belts for socialism and current communist propaganda. Soften the curriculum. Get control of teachers associations. Put the party line in textbooks. Use student riots to format public protest against programs or organizations which are under communist attack. Infiltrate the press. Get control of book review assignments, editorial writing and policymaking positions, as well as eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them censorship and a violation of free speech and free press break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures and radio TV, as well as presenting homosexuality, degeneracy and promiscuity as normal, natural and healthy. So this was written in 1958. Normal, natural and healthy. So this was written in 1958. And we can see.

Josiah Tshibaka: 17:49

You know no-transcript yeah, they've been successful. That's. That's just. That's crazy to hear. Thank you for reading that, Reagan, because I've I've heard things like that before, but I really feel like this message just needs to be way more widespread. That this, this whole. A lot of I feel a lot of people today are saying things like oh, we've discovered, or oh, we've realized, like I was watching YouTube short and this liberal person advocating for LGBTQ was like oh, we've realized that there's a distinction between sex and gender, as if the human race has grown in its knowledge and become more enlightened about the truth of the universe and the fact is, um no, there's an agenda.

Josiah Tshibaka: 18:37

There is an agenda. There are people who are deliberately trying to do this. If we realize this, we realized this 60 years ago because people were attempting to do this and instill this in and everything that we stand for.

Kelly Tshibaka: 18:56

It's a completely different system of worldview and system of doing government, of empowering people, versus making people essentially slaves and captives to the centralized government, the people who are in charge and the people who have power. And you're right that it comes at the degrading and the disintegration of the family unit, of education, of critical thinking. It actually reminds me of a story. I attended your school, so my alma mater is Texas A&M, and I had an incredible yeah, whoop, gig'em.

Kelly Tshibaka: 19:32

An incredible experience at Texas A&M. Huge fan. One of my favorite professors just retired from A&M, and he told me that the system has completely changed since the time that I was there, and he was in the political science department too. He said, you know when, when I was there and he was really challenging me to think and become the critical thinker that he helped me to be that there was an emphasis on teaching the students to think, he said, but now there's no, hardly any teaching happening at all. It's just, uh, the professors come in and they talk at the kids. There's very little engagement with the students, very little effort to actually have students talk with each other or interact, which is why it works just fine during COVID for everybody to learn online, because there isn't any real engagement with a professor or real engagement with each other. They're just essentially indoctrinating students. There's this is what you think, this is how you think, this is what I want you to think. Now spit it back out to me at a test.

Kelly Tshibaka: 20:32

And he said, though, what he has seen over the last couple years because it's only been a couple years is that the students have just really dropped in their ability to analyze, to critically think, to process information and to contribute then to a marketplace of ideas, to contribute academia into critical thought and thinking. And it really concerns him as you look to the future of America. Where are all the intellects, where are all the people who are going to think critically about things? And I see that in what you read as well, that in order to totally destroy the values of America, the social structure of America, the decline of America, it really is going to take knocking out the ability for people to think independently on their own. So I guess that brings up a next question In the face of all this social pressure, where do you find the strength to stand for what's right? So let's start with you, Reagan.

Reagan Hurly: 21:30

Yeah, so I mean really, as I was saying before, is being a Christ follower. Really, you know, working through what the Lord has given me as a gift and stewarding that, you know, for him and for his will. I mean Proverbs 16, three says let your thoughts be aligned according to my will. So I'm submitting myself to him and letting him align my thoughts to his will and that's really where I get my strength from. And, as well as you know, my family, my father and my mother, so importantly, they have, you know, guided me through every step of the way. I mean, I was homeschooled my entire life, so I really owe all of my knowledge to them. I owe, you know, coming to Texas A&M, you know, to, of course, to the Lord, but to them as well. So it's really being mentored by my family and following what you know, what Jesus says to follow is what is right is where I get my strength from.

Kelly Tshibaka: 22:27

That's awesome. How about you, Landon? How would you answer that question? Where do you find your strength?

Landon Gatliff: 22:34

So I find my strength to stand in Jesus. So the Bible is a compass of how to live our life and it doesn't promise that everything will be easy. No, to the contrary. It says that we will face hardships in our lives. The Bible tells us that we should stand up and fight for what we believe in. So I never want to be a person that sits on the sidelines whenever an injustice is happening, that sits on the sidelines whenever an injustice is happening. Ephesians 6, 13-14 says In addition, my mom is a fantastic role model. Whenever I was a younger kid, I was very shy. I wouldn't even consider doing anything like this. But in the fourth grade my mom made me sign up for a speech before age and there was plenty of tears through that, but I found that it was well worth the time and effort that I put into it.

Kelly Tshibaka: 23:42

That's awesome. We're up upon a break. We'll come back and hear Sarah's answer to where she finds her strength. You're on stand with Kelly and Josiah Tshibaka today. Hit subscribe at standshoworg. While we're on break. We'd love to have you, as one of our standouts, stand by. Welcome back to Stand. You're with Kelly and Josiah Tshibaka, and today we're talking with our youth panel about where they find the courage to stand in the face of social pressure, against what they believe. So, Sarah, let's pick up that conversation. Where do you find your strength to stand for the face of social pressure, against what they believe? So, Sarah, let's pick up that conversation. Where do you find your strength to stand for what you believe?

Sarah Price: 24:23

You know, I feel like we owe it to our founders of our country. We owe it to everyone that's fought, whether it's physically in the military or through politics, or through what they've done in society. We owe it to them, we owe it to our families and we owe it to posterity. You know, god has gifted us with this wonderful country, with wonderful values and so much potential. The potential is not gone by any means, and I believe that we have it in ourselves, this responsibility to pass it on to these future generations. They deserve to have everything that we have been gifted and more, and our country deserves to develop into more. It may feel tense right now, but that does not mean that we should not stand up, that we should not unite as communities and really come together to figure out how we're going to move forward, because ending such a wonderful, god-given country as this isn't an answer.

Kelly Tshibaka: 25:17

Sarah, I love how you live out your values, that you value our military, and so then you've pursued military service, and you've done that with great resolution. I love that about you. So I want to ask you we're doing this show about making courage contagious. It's something that's a high value for our family, but it's not something that, as a parent, I can force on a kid. So what has happened for you? Why is courage important to you, and how do you stand for what you believe?

Josiah Tshibaka: 25:49

For me it would have to go probably back to elementary school. As you know, Denali and I both faced a lot of racism and bullying and harassment in elementary school by many members of the black community because we were quote unquote white, Although ironically, our genetic ties to Africa were stronger and much more recent than any of theirs.

Josiah Tshibaka: 26:16

And unfortunately, throughout all of that time I was really without a protector or a defender or anyone who would stand up for me, and so I kind of started to play into the victim mindset that I wouldn't be able to do anything and that started to allow bullies to just walk all over me all the way through elementary school and then even into middle school. And one day I just something kind of snapped or changed, or this realization just popped into my head where I was like I'm done, waiting for someone else to come stand up for me and do the right thing. I got to be the person to stand up for myself. So I started standing up for myself, with success, and I was like, okay, well, so this is what it's like to be empowered and to not live under a victim mindset. And then, looking back, I started to realize, hey, wait, you know I can stand up for myself and that's all well and good now.

Josiah Tshibaka: 27:16

But who's who's helping little Josiah? Because little Josiah is still, he's still helpless. So all these other people out there because I know there are many, many of them like me, because, frankly, no one can stand up to the mob, like when you look at the sheer size of the opponents people will face when they stand for anything moral or just. In this country, it's a big mob who's going to go help them. The way I see it, I don't have the luxury of being afraid.

Kelly Tshibaka: 27:49

I like that. I was really surprised in those years how we would take legitimate concerns and complaints to teacher, and then teachers, and then administration, and then principals, and nothing would happen. And I think that that's a little bit like what it's like operating in society today you elevate the concern to the appropriate person with authority who should do what's right, and then they don't. But I also remember and you all might've seen this like on social media in a meme or something that picture where you know the person in authority with the bullwhip comes and then they tell the whole crowd to get down and everybody bends down except the one person who takes the stand, and then, and then the next scene is that one person that inspires a couple more people to then take a stand and then, because now a couple of people are taking a stand, the whole crowd stands up and then the person abusing their authority with the bullwhip then has to kneel down. And that's the whole point of taking a stand. When you're the one person standing in the crowd against the person who's abusing their authority with a bullet, it does I mean you pay the price, or, as one of our former guests said and I thought it was really, really well said. She said I'm tired of other people appropriating my courage. You stand behind me while I take a stand and appropriate my courage, and I bear all the brunt, I take all the sacrifice and pay the price.

Kelly Tshibaka: 29:12

On the other hand, if none of us take a stand, then, as Reagan was reading, the list just gets implemented and everything just devolves until the people in power get the slave society, the enslaved society that they want. And so the point in taking a stand is to show, just as you said, hey, wait a minute, I can do this, I'm empowered and it works. And then that becomes contagious and other people go. Well, actually, there's nothing extraordinary about you, you're just an ordinary person who did something different, and I can do that too. And then if everyone just starts taking a stand, then all of a sudden, just as our founder saw, then the rulers have to bend a knee and the people then are empowered. And that's what we want to stand for.

Josiah Tshibaka: 29:59

Right, I was going to say it would have been really, really nice to have just two or three other people standing with me, because then you start to turn the tide, and so I'd like to pivot back to our youth panel and we'll start with Landon. But just asking what would be your tips or advice like how do you guys think we can inspire our generation, gen Z and people younger than us, to stand with us, because we need to get them to stand up. How do we get them to stand up with us?

Landon Gatliff: 30:28

Well, number one, I would encourage people to continuously start asking questions, because that seems like that fuels the courage for us to be able to stand up, and that will lead to us taking actions, and us taking actions will foster into allowing us to have a much greater impact on even the little things.

Josiah Tshibaka: 30:52

That's really good, Reagan. What are?

Reagan Hurly: 30:55

your thoughts. Can you ask the question one more time? I apologize.

Josiah Tshibaka: 30:58

How would? What's, what would you say? How do we inspire our fellow students and those younger than us to stand up with us?

Reagan Hurly: 31:07

Right. I mean, don't be afraid. I know it's scary, but you know, operating in God's will, you know, knowing that he has you, no matter what. I mean, like Landon said, it's going to be hard. Life isn't easy. God can't guarantee that everything's going to be. You know rainbows and lollipops. It's going to be difficult, but as long as you know you act in his will, you will. That's the word I'm looking for. You will prosper, you will work out his plan, you will work out his plan and I think it's just. You know, realizing that you can rely on Christ is that would be the most important thing for me, as well as you know getting plugged in with other people, as you said. You know, if you could have had just one other person or two other people, it would have made it a lot easier. I mean, just finding one friend or two friends to stand up with you really makes all the difference.

Josiah Tshibaka: 32:02

Wonderful Sarah. What's your take?

Sarah Price: 32:06

So I would say for youth to question things, question what reality you're told is true, question narratives that you're presented with and if you truly believe that something is not right, don't stay silent, because if you find something is not right, it is very likely that other people also don't believe it's right and they just don't have that courage to say something. And once you say something, other people will say something, whether it's like a teacher in class that is just telling you falsehoods or going up against the actual, you know, governing officials doing these things. As a youth, you have that right and you have that power. But self educate yourself, you know.

Sarah Price: 32:46

I think one of the worst things that has happened to our generation is getting information instead of education. So we're scrolling through social media. We, you know, we get all these narratives and the algorithms are shooting us in these directions to really isolate ourselves and they're just presenting us with little clip bits, little things that are presented as facts but they're not. And I think when you talk to other youth, they're getting these narratives through social media and they don't do any research themselves, because it's not an easy thing. But I think, encouraging each other to question things, to discuss, to not stay silent anymore, because the reality is, it's our country, it's our society, it's our friends, it's our family that's at risk if we stay silent. For because the reality is, it's our country, it's our society, it's our friends, it's our family that's at risk if we stay silent for long enough.

Josiah Tshibaka: 33:33

so I would encourage people to question it sounds like ask questions, be educated, and then just do it.

Kelly Tshibaka: 33:42

Yeah, you know well, yeah, definitely a theme and some consistency at which I really like from people who are actually doing it. It reminds me of when I was in elementary school, just being me and my parents got called in for a teacher conference, which was unusual because I had good grades and so my dad never went to these, but it was apparently important enough that both parents had to go, was apparently important enough that both parents had to go. And so they took off work and went and met the teacher, who explained that she needed their help because little Kelly was asking too many questions in class and challenging her, and she didn't want to be challenged by little Kelly's questions anymore. And so could they please have a firm talk with me and tell me not to ask questions in class. And my dad got so angry at this teacher who, by the way, he was a union activist and leader at the time and he gets up, I guess, pulls his chair out from the table, stands up and pounds his fist on the table and says good, and she's doing exactly what I taught her to do, and storms out of the room. And I didn't get a talking to at all.

Kelly Tshibaka: 34:47

I nervously asked them that night. You know how did the teacher conference go? They said it was. Dad said it was great. You just keep doing what you're doing, kid. And of course, we all know how my career turned out since then. I've just kept asking questions of authority figures ever since, and I haven't always been particularly popular throughout my career. But to your point, Sarah Landon, I have been digging to the truth and exposing things that are wrong and you know, making sure that we take a stand for what's right.

Kelly Tshibaka: 35:17

I think you're onto something that just asking questions really does help us clarify information and get to what's true and not just take, you know, the the line from whoever thinks that they're in charge, because our is a very intoxicating thing and absolute power absolutely corrupts. So we'll be right back after this break. We're up on a break, so stand by with us. Make sure to hit subscribe at stand showorg. Any one of your favorite podcast platforms is where you can find us here with Kelly and Josiah Tshibaka. We'll be right back. Welcome back. You're on stand with Kelly and Josiah Tshibaka. Today we've got our awesome youth panel. It's so loved what you guys have had to share.

Kelly Tshibaka: 36:07

So I want to follow up on some of what we were talking about last time, which is it's really hard to take a stand out there. When you're asking questions, you're standing alone. We've heard about you know, Reagan, talking about people mocking you dressing up as you on Halloween. It was your neighborhood. It was the adults around you, Josiah, getting bullied at school, people in authority not doing what they're supposed to do. So, Reagan, let's start with you doing what they're supposed to do. So, Reagan, let's start with you. I just want to ask for all of the grownups out there listening who are like, hey, these are some pretty fired up and cool young adults doing what's right. These young adults are all throughout, all of our communities. What can grownups do to help young adults like you, as you guys take a stand for what you believe?

Reagan Hurly: 36:45

Man.

Reagan Hurly: 36:46

Invest in us that's the first word that comes to mind is really invest in the youth around you.

Reagan Hurly: 36:52

I mean, I have probably three or four mentors you know my father, my grandfather and then a couple really close friends and you know they're obviously all older than me but they took the time to invest in me and really develop my passion Because you know, I've been passionate about a lot of things for a lot of time but for most of that time it was pretty surface level and, you know, maybe a little bit not directionless, but I wasn't really knowing where to go.

Reagan Hurly: 37:20

And having these older people with more wisdom than I you know more, they know more than me really guiding me through every step of the way, you know more, or they know more than me really guiding me through every step of the way you know, showing me where I need to go, or you know what I need to, what I need, help with what, just guidance, really guidance, these people investing in me. So I would really say take the time to invest in these kids around you, because they are your future. You're not going to be around here forever and I'm the next generation, so invest in us.

Kelly Tshibaka: 37:52

Hey, let me follow up with that. So this is a mentoring question I often get. Does the mentor ask you and invite you to be mentored, or do you approach the mentor and ask them for mentorship? What do you say?

Reagan Hurly: 38:07

That's a good question. I really feel like it depends on the situation, because for me, I was the one asking for help and I know not every kid is like that, because some kids might be like I know more than you, I don't need you, but in reality, no, we really do need y'all. I mean I had no idea where I was going. I mean I need direction. Y'all have more wisdom than me, y'all know more, y'all know more than me. But it really it really depends on the situation. I mean, for me I approached them, but for maybe a kid who doesn't I don't want to use the word humility, but doesn't have as much humility as me, you know and start approaching them, you know, get involved in their life, you know, if they play sports, show up to their, show up to their games, really cheer them on, just you know. Start developing that relationship with them and slowly get more and more involved in their life and invest in them and really guide them to truth, that's good.

Kelly Tshibaka: 39:05

So for everyone listening, when I'm looking for someone I'm going to invest in because I'll tell you grownups who you would want to invest in you don't have a lot of margin for investing, so it's not like you're going to take on 100 youth, right? So I look for people who are faithful, accountable and teachable, because those are the three things that I can't pass on. So I'm looking for those kinds of qualities. But I'll tell you it's awkward either way, right? It's awkward to walk up to someone and say, hey, will you mentor me? And then like, where does the conversation go from there? And the answer is the conversation is what do you want mentorship on and how often? Or how serious of a commitment is this Like? Are we meeting three times a year? Or three times a week is kind of the what you need to be prepared for.

Kelly Tshibaka: 39:55

And then, on the flip side, I would just encourage and exhort all people who are just a couple steps ahead. So anything that you can pass on to someone else that you would go and say I'm, I'm willing to be available. So you don't want to be presumptuous. It does sound presumptuous Like Josiah, uh, can I mentor you? It just sounds a little bit presumptuous, which is probably a large part of the reason why people, a couple of steps ahead, don't do it. They don't want to presume, and then it'd be awkward and then personally like I'm not really interested but to just say, hey, I'm available If you've got any questions, if there's anything I can offer, any support I can give, I'm available for you If you need it. Happy to talk about. That Is this kind of a gentle way to make yourself available for people who are faithful, accountable and teachable. But let me pass the ball over to you, sarah. What would you say adults could do to help mentor or help encourage and support young adults of tomorrow?

Sarah Price: 40:54

You know, I think the biggest thing is advocating for youth voices and encouraging them. So you know, at the end of the day we're talking about all these mentors, our families, you know, teachers. Those are the adults that kids are coming to with their grievances, that they're like, well, something doesn't sit right or I really don't like how this is run, and it's up to the adults to encourage them and to tell them you can talk about these things, you can find solutions to these things. You don't just have to sit in a bad situation, you can solve it. So it does go back to that power of adults just encouraging their youth.

Kelly Tshibaka: 41:29

So it does go back to that power of adults just encouraging their youth. I like that. It reminds me of a specific experience you had that was on public display for everybody, where you were literally told you were not allowed to speak because you were bringing up a challenge and a question that was totally legitimate, but because you were questioning the adults, the older people in the room, then you were no longer allowed to speak and in fact what would have been really empowering is if you were allowed to speak and the issue had just been resolved and addressed. I think that that's a really good point. So I think an encouragement for everyone who's a little bit further along the road is sometimes the young adults are going to do and say things that are hard to hear, that we don't like, and we have to be emotionally healthy enough to handle that. And what I would also say is sometimes young adults will do things that are not right, and if we can have a little bit of grace for that to remember that when we were young adults we did things that were a little bit not right too, I mean I know I did. I see you smiling, and those are actually really good moments to pull people aside and give them some feedback, instead of assuming that they are as experienced and have had all of the life experiences of a 40 year old and therefore they should know better.

Kelly Tshibaka: 42:44

And that was stupid or arrogant or whatever judgments you would conclude. They're actually trying to engage in the workplace or political advocacy life or whatever it is, but they only have the experience of someone who, like not that long ago, was just in high school and so, like you were saying, sarah, to validate, you can do this, this is the road. And then to privately encourage and correct them, to say you'll be more effective if, or this would have been a better approach, so that we can help guide them along. Being more effective in their leadership is probably the best approach, and that's how we can build a bench of leaders for tomorrow who are really effective. All right, let's kick it over to you, landon. What would you say? What can adults do to help our young adults?

Landon Gatliff: 43:29

So one of the things that I really hate is whenever adults say I sure would hate to be born in this generation. Esther says, for such a time as this and I believe that we were born here in a specific time to do great things. Adults could encourage us by number one encouraging us to believe why we believe it. So this goes back to having a strong foundation. So whenever this happens, after one conversation of someone with a opposing viewpoint, you're not left thinking. Thinking why do I believe this? Or is everything I've been told a lie? No, I also encourage adults to play the devil's advocate. This gives kids and the younger generation an opportunity to think for themselves.

Kelly Tshibaka: 44:18

Yeah, absolutely.

Josiah Tshibaka: 44:22

I'm really just thinking about what Landon said, because people say that so often. Oh, I would hate to, especially teachers. Oh, I would hate to grow up in this day and age with the internet and everything, and it's just. It reminds me. You know, no, no, no human ever asked to be born into this world. You know, and our current generation, we definitely did not ask to be born into this world. I'm, I'm on the precipice of the rest of my life and I'm looking out and it's just like this is the world I get.

Josiah Tshibaka: 44:54

And it's like really Like all these people who are around me, all these adults who claim that they love me and they support me and they want to invest in me and they want to see me succeed, and it's like, yeah, but you're handing me this mess. Like what the heck? Like this is what I get to look forward to. This is the world you're handing off to me. It's frustrating, it angers me, frankly, as a young person. But then I also know I was born for a specific purpose. You know, God made me for this time and place, and if the world is chaotic and messed up and the adults around me wouldn't even want to be born in it today, then I'm proud that I'm the person who was born with the exact skill sets at the exact time to fix it and to turn this world into a place that I am proud to pass on to my children.

Kelly Tshibaka: 45:43

Right, what's that adage about? How great men, yeah, yeah.

Josiah Tshibaka: 45:48

Good men make easy times.

Kelly Tshibaka: 45:50

Right.

Josiah Tshibaka: 45:50

Easy times make bad men, bad men make hard times and hard times make good men.

Kelly Tshibaka: 45:56

So that would mean bad men are running things now.

Josiah Tshibaka: 46:00

I would concur.

Kelly Tshibaka: 46:03

And then that means that this generation coming up would be full of good men and women who are then going to turn things around. That's what I hear you guys saying is that there's a purpose for this next generation to have a role in turning things around, because we definitely know things need to be turned around. Yeah Well, I so appreciate those insights. That was really fantastic. So some of our key takeaways are in order to support young adults and the youth of tomorrow, we definitely need some mentorship. We need we would like to see the youth reach out and also for the older generation, the adults, to be brave enough, make themselves available enough to say, hey, I'm available here and I'm willing to invest in you. When we want to see people supported and we want to see people encouraging, we want to see adults encouraging the youth to say you've got a purpose, and then also just making a space for them, making space for their voice, making space for their place, even if it's something that they don't agree with or that challenges them in their position. I would even add to that something that I think was said, but not said necessarily explicitly, is making literal room. So, in order to make room for young adults coming up. You've got to vacate position and work yourself out of a job in order to give somebody an opportunity to have that experience, and so that takes a lot of courage, I think, to even step down and step out so that a young person can have that role.

Kelly Tshibaka: 47:32

So this has been another great episode of stand. We appreciate you all for being with us. Landon, Sarah and Reagan so appreciate that You've been on stand with Kelly and Josiah Tshibaka. We will see you next week for another amazing episode Standshoworg. See you next time.