A grandson's letter, a generation's concerns

My seven-year-old grandson recently sat down with crayons and bond paper to write a letter - not to Santa Claus or a favorite superhero, but to the leaders of Israel and Iran through their resident ambassadors in the Philippines.

- SONNY COLOMA

“Please stop fighting,” he wrote in big, careful handwriting. Israel is a holy country...where Jesus was born and where he was also crucified...You are hurting people and making other countries scared. I want peace.”

I was deeply moved. This wasn't just child’s play. His letter was a heartfelt expression—one born from the anxiety in the air, the snippets of news overheard during breakfast, the quiet conversations between his millennial parents and their friends.

In his young mind, current world events are not abstractions; they were real, troubling, and urgent enough to call for action, even from a child.

It is sobering to realize that a child so young is already wrestling with the consequences of global strife. His mother—my daughter—was the one who encouraged him. Alarmed by rising tensions in the Middle East, particularly between Israel and Iran, she's aware of how these distant events have very real implications for our daily lives: tighter oil supplies, higher prices at the fuel pump, inflation pressures, and financial uncertainty. Like many in her generation, she is attuned not only to geopolitical developments but also to the ripple effects they create on family budgets, job security, and long-term plans.

His parents’ conversation with friends and that letter got me thinking: How do current events affect the young?