“A Rough River of Sorts”

It's the 4th of July.Time for the tanks to roll through Washington, DC.Time to spare a moment to reflect upon young Óscar Alberto Martínez Ramírez and little Valeria, father and daughter, drowned in the Rio Grande while trying to get to an America that no longer exists.The Fascist menace in the White House responded by saying that the Rio Grande is "a rough river of sorts." Careless words, cruelly tossed out, landing on the ear in a kind of uncanny poetry.If you think there's something wrong with this picture, you might add a dying planet, a rise in hate crimes and the new empowerment of white supremacist groups. The SCOTUS endorsement of partisan gerrymandering. The war on science. And more.This Fourth, we are indeed trapped in the surge of a very rough river.There is much to overcome.[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhnPVP23rzo]What does this have to do with children or children's books, you ask? Everything. What kind of country do we want to leave to the children we write for? What kind of world?