Children

With great drama, the news will tell us of an immigrant child who died in custody, of a child kidnapped off the street, of a child dying of a rare cancer, of a child shot on an urban street. But what we don’t so often hear about are all the children who are killed daily in wars, who suffer from horrible diseases, who have no access to medical care, who live in dire poverty, who starve to death, who are forced into sex slavery.

These are persisting realities that we need constant reminders of, simply because the reality is that we don’t care for our children, when caring for them with full commitment is arguably the best way to build the kind of world that we hope for.

Children must wait in line behind power, politics, greed, self-interest and prejudice. Joy, support, a stable environment and a good education are impossible for so many children. Yet these are the things that would most likely turn them into productive human beings.

Of course we love our children, but too often only in a NIMBY way. Loved, happy and educated children would decrease the prison population, decrease hopelessness and poverty, decrease addiction and build a stronger America.

Am I wrong? Am I just a dreamer?