It goes without saying, so you know it’s about to be said, that children—are precious. Any rational person would agree that they are massively valuable; easily a close second to your fantasy football draft picks. Without nurturing the next generation, where would humanity be?

As a staunch fundamentalist, you’re probably concerned with the sordid activities of progressive thinkers and their depraved quest for equality. You lay awake, petrified that tomorrow—tomorrow will be the day that your little one learns an inconvenient truth. That not everyone is like them, thinks like them, or looks like them. That those individuals are also people, who deserve the same rights afforded to others.

They’re growing up in a culture that fails to understand them, that fears them—despises them.

It’s quite understandable really. You want the best for your child. You want them to grow up in a world that treats them with respect; one that values them as much as you do. You struggle to ensure a safer space for them to mature.

It may come as quite the shock to learn that a moral paragon, such as yourself, is not alone in the quest to keep a child from harm. You are not the only one who, while consuming hours of the O’Reilly Factor, returns from the No Spin Zone, horrified, wondering about the sort of insane world your child might inherit.

Mandi Camille Hauwert The author with her sister and father.

Surprised? I don’t blame you; how could you know that other people have kids—with the same deep-rooted instincts to protect them from a deviant society?

Show them by standing up for equality, by speaking out against those willing to destroy the will of another human being.

For some parents, the nightmare of such a world is already a reality. Their child is subjected to harsh—sometimes daily—judgement from their peers. They see adults on the television calling them confused, perverted, evil. They’re growing up in a culture that fails to understand them, that fears them—despises them.

Their child—is transgender.

No joke, children can be transgender too. I’m just kidding, you already knew that some kids are transgender. Which, is abundantly clear by the sheer volume of media coverage concerning transgender boys in girl’s locker rooms.

The trans-community is with you on this one. We don’t believe that young trans-boys belong in girl spaces either—they are boys after all. Although, I think that you may be a bit confused by this common ground. You see, transgender boys, are children assigned female at birth; so now, they identify as boys—they are boys. We get it, you’re confused, and that’s okay.

The parents of transgender children only want what any parent wants—what you want—for their child to realize every day of their lives that they are special, they are safe, and that they are loved.

Right now, transgender children are being bullied, being shamed, and being driven to suicide. Coming into the world with body parts that don’t reflect your heart, your true self, is difficult enough. If you, as fundamentalists, want to be a part of creating a better world for your child—then please teach them.

Teach them that it is not okay to ridicule someone that is different from themselves. Teach them that it is okay to accept those who don’t fit into easily definable boxes. Better yet, teach them—by doing. Show them by standing up for equality, by speaking out against those willing to destroy the will of another human being.

Is the legacy you want to leave behind for them one of hate and fear or one of love and acceptance? I know, sounds cheesy, Right? But, think about it for a moment. Imagine what it might be like the day your child says to you that their transgender.

Would you still demonize the very thing they are? Would you destroy your child’s love for life? Would you tell them that they are perverted, a danger to society?

Would you, a fundamentalist, actually love and accept your child unconditionally?