A Reimagined Classic Sparks A Young Girls Letter Of Peace To America This Holiday Season
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- Nov 11
- 5 min read
A Youth's Inquiry, A Youth's Hope: An Open Letter to America šŗšø
A Reimagined Classic Sparks A Young Girls Letter Of Peace To America This Holiday Season
Our foundations own, "Letter Of Peace," will be shared at the 15th Desmond Tutu International Peace Lecture, taking place on 20 November 2025 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre under the theme āFaith, Conflict, and Our Shared Humanity in a Fractured World.ā
In 1897, a young girl named Virginia O'Hanlon wrote to The New York Sun asking the most important question of her childhood: Was there a Santa Claus? The newspaper's editorial response became one of the most famous and beloved pieces of writing in American journalism, affirming that faith, imagination, and love are the highest truths.
As America enters another holiday seasonāa season meant for peace and goodwillāa new generation faces an even more challenging question. Jennifer, a Student Ambassador for the Youth Peace and Justice Foundation, has reimagined the classic letter in today's light. She speaks for youth nationwide who are grappling with unprecedented division, violence, and hypocrisy.
The foundation released nationally today, her solemn inquiry to a troubled nation as we enter the 2025 holiday season. We hope much like in 1897, media publications nationwide will carry the message.
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From Jennifer, Student Ambassador, representing the Youth Peace and Justice Foundation and Youth Nationwide
November 10, 2025
Dear America,
I am Jennifer. I am a Student Ambassador for the Youth Peace and Justice Foundation, an organization that believes in the power of young people to lead with peace and justice. My friends and I, from every small town and sprawling city across this nation, have been talking. And we have a questionāa profound and heartbreaking questionāthat we must put to you.
Some of our friends, even some adults, say there is no longer a unified America. They say it's just a collection of warring factions, a country too broken to mend. They say the spirit of the Republic is dead, a relic of history textbooks.
They tell us, "America, as it was meant to be, doesn't exist anymore."
But we want to know the truth. Is there still an America, truly? Is there still a nation that believes in the promises made in its founding documents?
š What We Were Taught, What We See
We are taught about the Founding Fathers, about their wisdom in crafting a Republic where liberty and justice could thrive. We learned it was a place where representatives, chosen by the people, would strive for the common good, not just their own. We learned that vigorous debate was essential, but always with the aim of a more perfect union, bound by shared principles and civic virtue.
But when we look around, we struggle to reconcile this beautiful lesson with the harsh reality. We see endless, snarling arguments that crush all hope of compromise. We see leadersāand too many citizensāwho treat opponents not as fellow Americans, but as enemies to be destroyed. The pursuit of civic virtue seems to have been replaced by a furious, divisive roar.
Is this the America you meant for us to inherit?š©ø
The Hypocrisy That Haunts Our Days
The confusion deepens when we hold your words against your actions. You tell us:
"Be nonviolent," and yet we watch you fight, endlessly and often cruelly, in your politics, in your media, in your very homes.
"Be inclusive," and yet we see you draw sharper and sharper lines, dividing us by race, by belief, by background, until trust itself seems impossible.
"Feed each other, physically and spiritually," and yet we see families denied sustenance, both from their tables and from the faith and hope that should lift their spirits.
This inconsistencyāthis profound hypocrisyāis a heavy burden on our young hearts. It creates an atmosphere where youth violence becomes a tragic symptom, where mistrust festers in our communities, and where the culture of violence feels not like an exception, but the norm.
We wonder, with a childās simple, direct question: If you do not live by these virtues, how can you expect us to?
A Small Poem, A Great Hope
Sometimes, when the confusion is too great, I write. This is a small truth from my heart:
The Unraveling
They gave us the flag, told us to hold tight,
Taught us to sing, to believe in the light.
Now the threads fray in our innocent hands,
Red for the blood spilled, white for the silence,
Blue for the tears spilled on this wounded land.
We look for the seam where the stitching was strong,
But find only the chasm where trust went wrong.
Oh, America, can you hear us weep?
We just want a future we can keep.
āØ Yes, There Is An America ā If We Make It So
America, your friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a cynical age. They do not believe except what they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds.
Yes, AMERICA, THERE IS AN AMERICA STILL!
It exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! How dreary would be the world if there were no America! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence.
We, the youth of this nation, are not waiting for permission to believe. We are not waiting for you, the adults, to stop fighting long enough to remember your duty.
Today, I make a solemn commitment on behalf of the Youth Peace and Justice Foundation and every young voice who hears this cry: We will act.
We will not act based on political ideology or partisan rhetoric. We will not be swayed by the noise of division. We will act based on something far more lasting: The simple, enduring principles of decency, empathy, and service.
We will commit to:
Model Respect: We will treat every person as a human being, worthy of dignity, even when we fiercely disagree.
Build Bridges: We will actively seek out the voices we don't understand and work to find common ground in our local communities.
Serve the Common Good: We will devote our energy to tangible acts of serviceāfeeding the hungry, mentoring the vulnerable, and cleaning up the despairābecause a Republic is only as strong as its least protected citizen.
America, we are taking back the spirit of the Republic. We are doing the hard, quiet work of stitching this country back together, one act of kindness at a time. Join us, or step aside, but do not mistake our silence for complacency. Our resolve is absolute. So maybe they were right.
Maybe there is still a Santa Claus & an America.
With Heavy Hearts and Unwavering Determination,
Jennifer, and the Youth Peace and Justice Foundation āļø
About the Youth Peace and Justice Foundation (YPJF)
The Youth Peace and Justice Foundation, formerly known as The Uvalde Foundation For Kids, is a national 501c3 organization dedicated to empowering young people to become leaders in conflict resolution and social justice advocacy.
Through intensive training programs and personalized mentorship, YPJF equips youth with the critical thinking and communication skills necessary to address systemic issues and promote equitable nonviolent outcomes in their schools and communities.
The Youth Peace & Justice Foundation
The Uvalde Foundation For Kids
254 499 8027
Charity ID 88-3268749
