Cities that tout their LGBT-friendly programs. Colleges that push “safe spaces” for trans people, gay students, and others. Schools that favor gender-fluid policies in which kids can “pick” whichever gender they’d like to identify with on a given day — and then switch back the next day if they feel so inclined and shame others if they don’t respect these constantly changing choices.

All of this progressive, in-your-face, and often confusing activity on behalf of a small minority of people in this country right now is causing traditional American families to reel back on a regular basis — and feel marginalized, challenged, and overlooked as they go about their business of leading proud, independent, and dignified lives, often with great faith and fortitude.

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Traditional families must hold fast to their principles and their beliefs — and remind themselves of the importance of sharing those beliefs with their children on a regular basis, so that their kids develop a strong core as they grow.

“LGBT activists are in an all-out war for the hearts and minds of our children,” said Dr. Michael L. Brown, Ph.D., of North Carolina. Brown is founder and president of FIRE School of Ministry in Concord, North Carolina, and director of the Coalition of Conscience.

He believes the activism on the part of a few is “something we simply can’t ignore today. It’s become a principal threat to our freedom of religion, of speech, and of conscience,” he told LifeZette in an interview. “But not only that, it’s become something that in a very serious way wants to indoctrinate our children. Basically, what it means is that those in this country who came out of the closet want to put those of us with opposing ideas to theirs in the closet.”

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Brown added that diversity for this minority of people means “it’s basically ‘my way or the highway.'” He said that in far too many schools today, “there’s going to be one narrative that’s put forth [by these activists]. And if you don’t agree with it, you’re now going to be classified as a bigot, or a homophobe, or a transphobe — and it’s something that we cannot ignore and avoid today. It’s touching every area of society.”

“People may be well-meaning in their intent,” he added. For them, it may be about equality, “about being able to have their marriage and their family exactly as they choose to have it,” he said. “But it also means, really, the transforming of American society in very fundamental ways — and it affects everyone else.”

Brown cites examples of people who have lost positions or been fired from their jobs simply because they held fast to their own beliefs and did not sign on to this radical, progressive agenda. “We know this can happen — it is not just a possibility, but very real. Your privately held views are now aired publicly and all of a sudden your job, your ability to support your family, is threatened” — simply because you haven’t gone along with a radical agenda.

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“Then once you get into transgender activism,” said Brown, “reality is whatever you perceive it to be. College campuses are now saying that students can identify the pronoun by which they want to be recognized. And if others don’t go along with that — then they are identified as bigots or homophobes and can be ostracized.”

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Finally, there’s the vivid example of elementary schools that no longer use “boys” or “girls” to group the children — some schools are using sneaker color to organize the students, then allowing children to move freely into other “gender categories” as they so desire.

So what do families do? How do they protect against this, properly educate their children, and steer their kids through these minefields?

“First, they have to be aware of what’s happening,” said Brown. “They need to know what kids are being influenced by” — whether it’s TV shows or other entertainment. “They also need to know what’s being taught in their children’s schools. They must be involved. They need to go to parent-teacher meetings and ask questions. Then, if they have issues with things — they need to raise their voices.”

Brown said, “Why not get involved on this level?”

And he reminds parents that little children are being indoctrinated today before they even understand the meaning of sexuality at all.