Elliot is my youngest son. He is 17. He is a senior in high school. He doesn’t use Instagram and Snapchat and Facebook. He doesn’t watch television or movies or stuff on Netflix and YouTube.
Last year I had to take his phone away. He went without it for months. When I gave it back at the start of the school term, he said okay, but only if I restrict it for only calls and texting.
Elliot has told me a few times that he looks at “all these students” during school. “They are always on their phones. That’s all they do. They are not experiencing the world around them.”
“Dad, I think giving electronics to children, even teens, is bad for them.”
Elliot is an earlier riser; he’s up every morning, often at 4 or 5. He usually goes to bed at 8 or 9 at the latest. He often says, with a grin, “Dad, there’s nothing better than a really good night’s sleep.”
He never takes his phone into his bedroom. He leaves it in the kitchen. He says that texting is a distraction from studying or reading or spending time talking to friends and family, face-to-face.
Elliot doesn’t want a car. He rides his bike 3 miles to school every morning, often in the dark. After school, he rides his bike to the boathouse for rowing practice. At 6:30, it’s dark again, and he rides home.
He works at the boathouse on the weekends. He gets to work and back home on his bike.
Elliot says he prefers riding his bike because he doesn’t want to pollute the planet. He says riding a bike is better exercise. He says the experience of riding a bike is better than driving a car because you’re “so much closer to nature.”
Oh, and he doesn’t eat sugar. No soda. No candy. No junk food. He eats a very balanced diet. He works out 6 days a week. He is very committed to his health.
My other children are normal. They all use Instagram and Snapchat and Facebook on their iPhones. They all watch television and movies and stuff on Netflix and YouTube. They drive cars and stay up late and eat junk food.
Gina and I are normal. We use Instagram and Snapchat and Facebook on our iPhones. We watch television and movies and stuff on Netflix and YouTube. We drive cars and go to bed late and eat junk food.
Part of me thinks Elliot’s devotion is admirable. Staying away from screens, getting plenty of sleep, staying away from junk food, good exercise — aren’t those good things?
Sometimes, a part of me thinks his devotion is extreme.
But I never think my devotion to my social media is admirable. I never think my watching television and movies and stuff on Netflix and YouTube is worthy of praise. I never get feelings of pride that I went to bed too late or gouged on junk food.
Sometimes I wish I was more “extreme” like Elliot.
I bought some Green Superfood, “Your daily greens plus nutritious fruits & veggies for health & wellness” because I rarely take a lunch break because I want to help these children.
It’s been 60 days.
It’s been a blur.
Numbers.
Fourteen thousand volunteers.
Forty-one states.
Six countries.
Over 300 camps and mentoring clubs.
Over 100 adoptions and foster care placements.
Mostly, those children. Ten thousand that we reach each year at our mentoring clubs and camps. Six to twelve-year-olds. All neglected. Most abused. Physically and/or sexually.
All abandoned.
Every day quickly disappears because the work is so great.
So much opportunity. I was in Sacremento last week for doing advocacy work. I will be in DC next week.
We are keeping people off the streets, out of prison, out of the sex trade.
We are reaching them before it’s too late.
I wanted to furnish my office in the first week 60 days ago. I got rid of the 80’s cherrywood stuff. I have this one desk, which is an old table I brought from home. And the oriental (is it okay to say that?) rug. And these two chairs that were left over. I plan to get rid of the chairs and get some furniture that suits me.
But the work is so great. How do we reach more children? One mother who adopted one of the kids said her daughter would have been dead had we not stepped in. Her name is Samantha. I have a picture of her on my desk from her first camp. She is an adult now. Flourishing. Leading efforts to reach foster children in her state.
Urgency.
We want to reach all of these children. All 400,000+ plus of them. Take them out of their homes. Give them their first birthday party. Show them the love and care and nurture which all children need but not all children get. Mentor them throughout the year. Be there for them because, too often, there is nobody else.
I need to furnish my office soon. But it’s more important to work to help these children.
I want to make this a better post. But it’s more important that I get back to work to help these children.
If you can, go to amazon smile. Google it. Then search for Royal Family Kids. Make us your charity. Amazon will give a portion of every single purchase to us so we can reach more kids.
Reading about Wittgenstein (1889-1951), who I studied at UCLA. He created the notion of language games, which I didn’t appreciate learning about at the time, and I still don’t like very much.
But, I’m intrigued with this guy. He was one of the most influential philosophers of the 20th century.
And…
Devised a new kind of sewing machine as a child.
Then studied engineering in Berlin.
Went to Manchester, England, and studied aeronautics.
Didn’t really speak English, but figured it out.
Found out he was actually interested in mathematics.
So he met Bertrand Russell and G.E Moore in Cambridge and became one of the most annoying and intriguing students, arguing with professors and winning their respect for his tireless devotion to understanding.
Then was drawn to an isolated farmhouse in Norway where he wrote philosophy.
But in 1914 decided to volunteer for the Austro-Hungarian army.
Was a prisoner of war in Italy where he completed his Tractatus-Logico-Philosophicus, a pure masterpiece in modern day logic and philosophy of language.
Happened upon Leo Tolstoy and decided to devote himself to the Gospel and an abstemious life as a village teach in his homeland of Lower Austria.
Wanted to become a monk, but decided not to.
Instead, became an assistant gardener in a monastery.
Became interested in architecture.
Designed houses.
Then decided to get his Ph.D.
P.S. His father was and extremely wealthy steel magnate. When he died in 1913, 24 year old Ludwig became one of the richest men in Europe. But he soon became disinterested in the wealth — not wanting to spend that which he had not earned — and gave 100% of it away to relatives.
I am humbled and pleased to announce that I have been named President and Chief Executive Officer of Royal Family Kids, Inc. (RFK) — a California non-profit organization that brings healing and support to thousands of foster children each year who are victims of abuse, neglect, and abandonment.
As you might know, during my run for U.S. Congress, I received the formal endorsement of human rights crusader, Bill Browder. His story had captured my heart and, ironically, will now serve as a driving force behind my new work.
Bill, who founded an investment firm in Moscow in the 1990’s, was later named the top investment fund manager in the world. But on November 16th, 2009, when his tax attorney, Sergei Magnitsky, was tortured and murdered by associates of Vladimir Putin, he made a vow to seek justice for those responsible. He gave up his lucrative career to crusade on behalf of the many victims of Vladimir Putin and his accomplices.
In 2012, Bill’s work compelled the U.S. government to impose sanctions on the responsible Russian oligarchs. A new bill, called The Magnitsky Act, received overwhelming support from both houses of Congress.
Vladimir Putin immediately “retaliated” by banning the adoptions of thousands of Russian orphans to American families.
Because many of these orphans suffered from birth defects, fetal alcohol syndrome, HIV, and other ailments, many were effectively sentenced to death, given a lack of medical resources in Russia. Tens of thousands of Russians took to the streets in protest of yet another one of Putin’s gruesome acts.
As a former Executive Director of an international youth campaign that encouraged and inspired thousands of at-risk teens, and as a former executive with the March of Dimes, a foundation devoted to helping newborns with birth defects and illness, you can imagine how Bill’s story touched me, especially Putin’s decision to penalize innocent foster children.
As I learned more about these orphans during the campaign I often asked myself, How might I use my influence to help the kinds of desperate children that Putin violated?
My answer came in mid-June when I received an email from an RFK representative who asked if I’d consider this role, and meet with their search committee. I took the meeting. For the past two months, I’ve been involved in a long process of informational meetings with RFK leadership, and many interviews.
Earlier this month, I was selected to lead the organization as the new President and CEO.
I really don’t have words to describe this organization. I’ve honestly never seen anything like it. This video is just a small sample of the work RFK does at its 5-day camps, treating children like Samantha as “royalty.”
During my campaign, I learned too well how divisive today’s political environment can be. But we can all agree on one thing. We can all agree that all minor children are innocent, especially those suffering from abuse, neglect, and abandonment. And given that approximately 80% of our prison inmates were former foster care children, and 60% of all child sex trafficking victims have histories in the child welfare system, I could think of nothing more compelling for my next step than leveraging my advocacy convictions — to bring real change to countless children.
Working in partnership with Child Protective Services in 40 states, RFK has helped change the lives of over 100,000 kids, over the past 30 years. This year alone, we will have encouraged and mentored approximately 10,000 kids. Like Samantha,
But with approximately 500,000 foster children in the system today, the work before us is daunting.
Three weeks ago, I attended my first RFK event, a 5-day camp with 71 children, ages 6 – 12. I served as a volunteer along with over 100 others who gave up their vacation time to work all day and night in 95-degree heat, mentoring and serving these precious children. I wrote about two of my experiences here and here.
Each camp has a “Birthday Party” with gifts and cake and ice cream and games — because so many of them had never had a birthday party before.
I learned that many camp counselors and volunteers end up adopting the children they mentored at camp.
The highlight of the week was when one of the boys at the camp, an 11-year-old named Miguel, who was a victim of physical abuse and severe neglect, asked me if I would be his father.
There are no words to describe how that moment — I realized there and then that hundreds of thousands of abandoned children like Miguel are in such desperate need of hope, affirmation, positive experiences, and love.
This new work of mine will be my part in helping those innocent children.
