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There are moments that remind you the next generation isn’t lost after all. Tuesday at the Museum of the Bible was one of them. Twelve-year-old Shea Encinas stood beside President Trump and delivered a testimony that put most adults to shame—a simple, unwavering declaration of faith in the face of a system that tried to crush it. \”I’ve been a Christian my whole life, and Jesus means everything to me.\” Those words weren’t spoken at a youth group meeting or a Sunday service. They came from a child who had been bullied, ostracized, and punished for refusing to bow to the gender ideology being forced on him in the classroom. The story starts in fifth grade at La Costa Heights Elementary in California’s Encinitas Union School District. School officials enrolled Shea in a \”buddy\” mentoring program that required him to teach a kindergarten student using a book called \”My Shadow Is Pink.\” The book pushes the idea that children can choose their gender \”based on feelings instead of how God made us.\” It’s the kind of radical indoctrination that would have been unthinkable in public schools just a decade ago. Shea knew it was wrong. But like any kid, he was afraid of getting in trouble. Still, he and his family spoke up. They challenged the curriculum. They exercised the kind of parental rights that the left claims to support while actively working to undermine. The response was swift and ugly. The school treated the family badly. Kids started bullying Shea and his brother because of their faith. The administration did nothing to stop it. This is what happens when you challenge the woke orthodoxy in America’s public schools: they come for your children, and they expect you to sit quietly and take it. \”It hurt a lot, but I kept trusting God,\” Shea said. How many adults have that kind of resilience? How many grown men and women cave at the first sign of social pressure, the slightest risk of being called names or excluded from the right circles? This twelve-year-old faced more hostility than most of us ever will, and he didn’t break. The left loves to talk about \”brave\” children who parrot their talking points. They celebrate kids who show up at protests with signs they barely understand, reciting slogans about climate change or social justice that were fed to them by activist teachers. But real courage—standing alone against a system that has all the power, all the institutional weight, all the ability to make your life miserable—that’s something they can’t stand. Shea Encinas represents everything they’re afraid of. A young person who thinks for himself. A child who knows the difference between right and wrong and isn’t afraid to say it out loud. A generation that might actually reject the poison being poured into their minds by an education establishment that has lost its way. \”I believe kids like me should be able to live out our faith at school without being forced to go against what we believe,\” Shea told the audience at the Museum of the Bible. It’s a radical statement in 2026, which tells you everything you need to know about how far we’ve fallen. Religious freedom used to be a bedrock American value. Now it’s something a child has to plead for while standing next to the President of the United States. President Trump’s presence at the event wasn’t accidental. He’s made defending religious liberty a centerpiece of his agenda, and stories like Shea’s are exactly why. The left wants to frame this as a culture war, as if protecting children from ideological indoctrination is somehow controversial. But for millions of American parents, this isn’t about politics—it’s about their kids’ souls. \”I hope no other family has to go through what mine did,\” Shea said. It’s a noble wish, but probably unrealistic. The gender ideology industry is big business, and it’s entrenched in school districts across the country. There will be more Shea Encinases, more families who have to choose between staying silent and facing the wrath of administrators who think they know better than parents. The difference is that now those families know they’re not alone. They have a president who will stand with them. They have a twelve-year-old hero who showed them what courage looks like. And they have the knowledge that even when the system tries to break you, faith endures. Jesus means everything to him. And on Tuesday, in front of the President and the nation, Shea Encinas proved that means something. Source: The Gateway Pundit
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