At the moment of writing this, political protests are spreading across cities in Indonesia. People are shouting their demands, both on the streets and online. Yet, among the voices opposing these movements, I notice a “unique” perspective, one that often comes from parents themselves.

Based on my personal observation, their reasoning falls into two general points. First, they see protests as a form of instability that disrupts the environment in which they are trying to raise their children. Second, they put their hopes into focus on raising their kids as honest, upright individuals so they won’t grow up corrupt, or worse, become the kind of politician people are now protesting against.

At first glance, these might sound like noble intentions. But in reality, I find both lines of thinking to be deeply flawed and unfair, not just to society, but to their children’s future as well.

Yes, raising children with honesty and integrity is essential. But how can those children thrive if the world around them is built on corruption, nepotism, and injustice? How can they live up to their full potential if the system they inherit is already tilted in favor of those who cheat? Parents may succeed in raising good individuals, but if they allow the system to remain broken for decades, what kind of world are they handing over?

The truth is, raising children while ignoring systemic decay means leaving them vulnerable. It means allowing their honesty and integrity to be exploited. They are rewarded not with opportunity, but with low wages, limited rights, and stifled potential. By focusing narrowly on the private act of raising “good kids” while neglecting the public responsibility of fixing what’s broken, parents unintentionally help corrupted leaders keep their status quo intact.

And then there’s the extreme reality of what a broken system brings: when law itself collapses. Imagine your child, just trying to live a normal day, such as going to school, hanging out with friends, enjoying life. Suddenly, shit happens. They become the victim of a crime, a tragedy enabled or even committed by those in power. In that moment, their honesty and innocence mean nothing. The system fails them. Justice fails them. And as parents, as a society, we have failed them too.

Because let’s talk about the uncomfortable truth: children don’t grow up in isolation. They grow up in a society shaped by generations before them. If parents think only about their own kids, while forgetting that those kids live in a deeply interconnected world, then we are not protecting them. We are abandoning them. We are selfishly hoping they’ll “grow stronger” in a dangerous, unjust world, instead of doing our part to make that world safer and fairer.

If we truly love the next generation, we must not only raise them with honesty and integrity but also fight to build a system that honors those values. Otherwise, we’re raising children to live in a house we’ve left crumbling.

Well, this post is written by someone who doesn’t have children. And I can already hear the response from many parents: “You don’t know how hard it is to raise a kid. I don’t have time to deal with politics. Let me focus on what I can control, which is raising my children at my own home.”

But, I am one of those children who was raised well. I grew up with honesty and good values, yet I still feel the sting of a broken system that was allowed to rot by the generations before me. I hate how it continues to ruin opportunities for people like me. I hate how the older generation stood by, watching, excusing, or staying silent, while all of this unfolded.

Because in the end, even the best upbringing can’t protect a child from the damage of a system left broken.