Earlier this week I read a story that brought tears to my eyes.
I am not a particularly emotional person, but I choke up at the occasional heartfelt message relayed in a soup commercial and every single military homecoming video I watch makes me cry.
The message that pulled at my heartstrings was more of an inspirational message, though. A young girl had dressed up as Ruth Bader Ginsburg for her class’s annual Superhero Day.
Dressed in a sweater, skirt and tights, hair pulled back in a bun and glasses perched on her nose, she looked so much like RBG that the associate justice of the Supreme Court wrote her a note telling her so.
You might say, “So? What’s the big deal?”
To me, it is a very big deal.
In a world where most American children define superheroes by brawn and superhuman talents like the characters they see in comic books, it was refreshing to see such a young child aspire to emulate such an inspirational, powerful woman.
With all the evil, angry things that happen in this world, we cling a little tighter to the innocence of children and depend on the next generations to improve the state of our country.
This little girl — whether persuaded by her parents or not — has the ability to recognize that it does not take super-sonic vision, good looks or big muscles to be a hero.
It takes mental strength, maturity, poise and an even temper, just like her hero has.
When four teenagers bullied and tortured a mentally disabled boy in Chicago last week, my heart broke for a number of reasons. Of course, I was distraught over the heinous crime, but even more unsettling was the perpetrators’ youth.
Three of the four people charged with the hate crime are on the brink of adulthood — still teenagers regardless of how the law defines a legal adult.
If three 18-year-olds have enough hate in their hearts to commit and record such an appalling, hateful crime, what does that say about our country?
With all the mass shootings, sexual assaults and other violence, can we really argue that the violence is isolated?
Unfortunately, I do not think so.
So maybe that is why a little girl mimicking a trailblazer for racial, gender and reproductive rights made me cry. Whether she can articulate her reasoning or not, this girl has the capacity to understand the sort of person she should aspire to be.
If an 8-year-old girl from Maryland hopes to emulate one of the strongest advocates for change in the last century, perhaps there is hope for change in our country. Whether or not your political views align with RBG’s traditionally liberal stances, I think everyone can agree that our country is in dire need of a change, and children like the 8-year-old in the pencil skirt and cardigan are just the kind of change I think is needed.
Thank you, Michele Threefoot, of Columbia, Maryland, for restoring my faith in America’s youth.

Ambrosia Neldon is the general manager at Leader Publications. She can be reached by phone at (269) 687-7713, or by email at ambrosia.neldon@leaderpub.com.