Imagine a Better Future for Our Children

What Kind of Future Do You Imagine for Our Children?

Today's entry is in response to a feeling of great exasperation resulting from watching the world attempting to bludgeon itself into submission in the name of peace, collaboration/cooperation, community, or one of a million causes.

I am sincerely concerned about the future our children and young people are destined to inherit from the adult generation. I believe they deserve the very best we can leave them. One that is worth inheriting! How about you?

At times like these, the thoughts expressed in the song Imagine by John Lennon seem most appropriate.

The Child As A Miracle

On the 39th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the philosophical and legal controversy continues among the people of the United States. Realizing a common ground regarding the issues related to Roe v. Wade may, or may not, become a reality, at least in the foreseeable future. However, speaking as a child advocate, I sincerely hope that we as a people can come to agreement on the miraculousness nature of childbirth and childhood. Wherever you stand on the Roe v. Wade decision, I hope that we are of one voice regarding the unequivocal nature and value of all life, especially that of a child.

"The child must know that he is a miracle,

that since the beginning of the world there hasn’t been,

and until the end of the world there will not be,

 another child like him."

~Pablo Casals

Thy life is a miracle!

~King Lear

When A Child Is Born

A ray of hope flickers through the sky,

A tiny star lights up, way up high.

All across the land dawns a brand new morn’.

This comes to pass, when a child is born.

A silent wish sails the seven seas.

The winds of change whisper in the trees,

And the walls of doubt crumble fast and torn.

This comes to pass, when a child is born.

A rosy hue settles all around.

You’ve got the feel you’re on solid ground.

For a spell or two no-one seems forlorn.

This comes to pass, when a child is born.

And all this happens, because the world is waiting,

Waiting for one child; black, white, yellow? No-one knows.

But a child that’ll grow up and change tears to laughter,

Hate to love, war to peace and everyone to everyone’s neighbour

And misery and suffering will be words

That will be forgotten forever.

It’s all a dream and illusion now,

It must come true, sometime soon somehow.

All across the land dawns a brand-new morn’.

This comes to pass, when a child is born.

~F. Jay

                                                  

Our Most Sacred Trust

”There is no trust more sacred than the one the world holds with children.There is no duty more important than ensuring that their rights are respected, that their welfare is protected, that their lives are free from fear and want and that they can grow in peace.”       ~Kofi Annan

As the the 7th Secretary General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan had many opportunities to see firsthand children living in a multitude of environments around the world. He also realized that many, if not most, of the decisions we make in the various political and social arenas ultimately impact the lives of children. One cannot help but question our ability as adult decision-makers to do the "right thing" in behalf of our children to ensure that their future is safe and secure?

"If we don't stand up for children, then we don't stand for much."

-- Marian Wright Edelman

Marian Wright Edelman is a distinguished child rights advocate that has been a perennial voice for children for many years. She has been a strong advocate for minority children, especially African-American children. More importantly though is her recognition, as it should be everyone's, that where we stand on children's issues says a great deal about who and what we are as adults.

"It's up to each of us to help create a better world for our children."

-- Dr. Benjamin Spock

Those of us old enough to have lived, and/or grown up, during the "Dr. Spock era" remember that Dr. Spock's philosophies regarding child rearing gathered in a great number of followers, and, similarly, fostered a large cadre of scoffers and critics. However, can we as a species, as a society, as a nation, or as a world deny the validity of the quote above which is attributed to Dr. Spock?

As individuals, we frequently feel that our efforts to work toward a better, more peace-filled, world are futile, and that the vast majority of people are hellbent on destroying, rather than improving, our world. Certainly, there is more than ample evidence to support such a sense of hopelessness, but for the sake of our children, if not for ourselves, we must not give up on our efforts to make a positive difference in our homes, communities, and the world. "Carol Bellamy reminds us, "...in serving the best interests of children, we serve the best interests of all humanity."

Worth Thinking About!



I Was Hungry, Nathan Greene (Artist)

The following excerpt is borrowed from The Sun Magazaine:

"Anytime we see somebody who is pushing a shopping cart and talking to themselves or apparently drunk on the sidewalk, we know they didn't start that way.... Something happened to them, probably something awful, probably more than once, that broke them and brought them to their sorry state. They were once children who didn't get a fair break. So let's honor who they were. Let's at least give them a fair break now."

                                                ~John Records, Leave The Lights On

This blog is dedicated to the advocacy for children's rights. But, it is dedicated to much more. At the bare minimum, the fair and respectful treatment of our children is a moral and social imperative. For those of us willing to reach beyond minimums and risk a bit of the esoteric, we need to see our children beyond their corporal existence. We also need to conceive of them as spiritual beings, as well. Either way, our response to the children will determine our own lot in life. In simple language, we cannot help children without helping ourselves. Likewise, we cannot do harm to children without doing harm to ourselves. In so many ways, everyday, we have the choice to do good, or do harm. Unfortunately, with the contemporary trend to "live in the moment," "live in the now," at best, the "future" is considered something fleeting and/or illusory. This is nearsightedness at it's worst. If we do not at least risk living in the future a bit, is living in the now of any lasting value?" Investing our time and energy in the proper nurturing of our children can bring us joy-in-the-moment, as well as fulfillment and reward in the future.

Let's do more than honor people for "who they were." Let's also honor them for "who they are."

“It is one of the most beautiful compensations of this life

 that no man can sincerely try to help another

without helping himself.”

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Children's Future is in Our Hands

I Dreamed

I dreamed I stood in a studio, and watched two sculptors there,

The clay they used was a young child's mind, and they fashioned it with care.

One was a teacher; the tools she used were books and music and art.

One was a parent with a guiding hand and a gentle, loving heart.

And when at last their work was done

They were proud of what they had wrought.

For the things they had worked into the child could never be sold or bought.

And each agreed she would have failed if she had worked alone

For behind the parent stood the school, and behind the teacher stood the home.

--Ray A. Lingenfelter

Acquiring Knowledge - Motivations

"There are some who desire knowledge merely for its own sake; and that is shameful curiosity. And there are others who desire to know, in order that they may themselves be known; and that is vanity, disgraceful too. Others again desire knowledge in order to acquire money or preferment by it; that too is a discreditable quest. But there are also some who desire knowledge, that they may build up the souls of others with it; and that is charity. Others, again, desire it that they may themselves be built up thereby; and that is prudence. Of all these types, only the last two put knowledge to the right use"

--St. Bernard, Sermon on the Canticle of Canticles.

What do children learn?

Children Learn What They Live

If Children live with criticism, they learn to condemn.
If Children live with hostility, they learn to fight.
If Children live with fear, they learn to be apprehensive.
If Children live with pity, they learn to feel sorry for themselves.
If Children live with ridicule, they learn to feel shy.
If Children live with jealousy, they learn to feel envy.
If Children live with shame, they learn to feel guilty.
If Children live with encouragement, they learn confidence.
If Children live with tolerance, they learn patience.
If Children live with praise, they learn appreciation.
If Children live with acceptance, they learn to love.
If Children live with approval, they learn to like themselves.
If Children live with recognition, they learn it is good to have a goal.
If Children live with sharing, they learn generosity.
If Children live with honesty, they learn truthfulness.
If Children live with fairness, they learn justice.
If Children live with kindness and consideration, they learn respect.
If Children live with security, they learn to have faith in themselves
and in those about them.
If Children live with friendliness, they learn the world is a nice place in which to live.

—Dorothy Law Nolte, Ph.D