I heard this report and I could not believe it - half the world's children do not have what they need to survive.
Empathy is the essential human skill, the reason we have such large brains and language - what use are these things if not to understand the conditions of others? Knowing that, how did this happen?
And we cannot look askew at third world countries - even in the industrialized countries, we have kids who go to school hungry, who are preyed on by adults they trust, or live in fear of some bozo shooting up the school.
What's scarier than the negligence that allows so many to be hungry is the deliberate misuse of our young - from mustering them as soldiers to selling them as sex slaves.
Jesus said it as plainly as possible - anyone who harms a child would be better off being cast into the sea with a stone around their neck.
Children are the epitome if innocence - they look to us with trust, and instinctively expect any adult to help them. And as a parent, I know that I have to explain to my kids that this is not so! How sad it is that I am not explaining to my kids that they have to fear bears, wolves... but members of their own species! Adults will enslave them, send them to war, beat them, sexually humiliate them, use them, kill them, exploit them... how is this possible?
How is this possible?
Thursday, December 9, 2004
Human inhumanity
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2 comments:
I have no idea how this is possible. I work on a daily basis with 13/14 yr. olds. While the rest of working America jokes with their coworkers, I joke with kids all day. They can be the most infuriating creatures EVER...but they're so worth loving. You can look at a mad or sad teenager's face and always see the scared little kids that they are.
It seems like it always ends up this way...with parents blaming teachers and teachers blaming parents. But, I know that I have kiddos that it seems that their parents don't give them the time and energy they deserve. As a result, they have very little esteem for themselves....leading them to put themselves in dangerous positions. Also, I have quite a few kids that though they live at home with one or both parents...they're basically raising themselves.
Then of course, there are just some sick bastards out there who are looking to prey on the weak. I think these people have always been around.
It is so disturbing to me that anyone could knowingly hurt a child....and don't be mistaken...they're children a lot longer than they look like children.
Could go on and on....goodness knows....but I'll leave it at that.
Know what you mean about kids raising themselves. When I was on the community centre board, there were kids we were desperately trying to get into one of our classes - pottery, ballet, anything. We even offered to waive the fees, because we knew these kids needed something, anything, as an interest. I can't tell you how sad it made me that some parents could not even be bothered to just sign the form that would get them in...
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