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What's A Kid To Do?
I read somewhere that a person's childhood should be remembered as the happiest time of their lives. For me, I think that this is true. I have fond memories of little league baseball, midget football, and going to
Fernandina Beach Florida for vacation every summer. I remember growing up in a home where I had two parents that loved me very much. I remember my brother and I getting up every Saturday morning and watching cartoons until our eyes were blurry. I remember family get togethers, playing with my friends, and more than anything else, I never remember being afraid of anything.
So many kids today would simply be happy to have one of those memories; never being afraid of anything. Unfortunately, we live in a time where kids have to be afraid of just about everything. The terror level for kids has nothing to do with homeland security. It is more about physically and mentally abusive parents, it is about going to schools where, at any time, someone may pull out a gun and reenact their favorite video game. It is about going to the bus stop and hoping that no one tries to abduct you. It is about child sexual abuse, it is about date rape, and it is about drug abuse. They're more informed about teenage suicide than any generation to date. What's a kid to do?
Have we really become a society where kids can no longer be kids? How often have you heard a conversation, or maybe participated in one, where the talk was about how much smarter kids are now than when we were kids? They are so much more mature these days, someone would say. You would not believe how busy little Johnny is, another might say. And finally, you might say, I would love to stay, but I've got to get moving. My daughter has ballet; music lessons and then we still have to get her homework done. When we combine our societal filth with all the things that parents are doing, to ensure that their kids are well rounded, the kids are simply spent.
When will we ever learn that children are our most precious commodities? How many cases of reported child abuse does it take for someone to remove a child from the home? How many cases of domestic violence, that most often occurs in the presence of children, must we endure before we finally remove these people from their lives? With an attitude of forgiveness and second chances, at any cost, rather than an introduction into self-accountability, children will continue to suffer.
Obviously, some children are so strong that they can survive any scenario and come out on top. We rely on the common excuse that adults are quick to offer when a child is at risk. Kids are so resilient. Are they really that resilient or is it a false pretense that allows adults to sleep at night? Maybe we should ask some of these kids, who have gone through horrors that are worse than some of the scenes that we might see in one of Jason's movies, just how resilient they think they are?
It is so disturbing to see one child after another victimized at the hands of an adult, only to see the system turn its immediate attention on ensuring that the defendant's rights are secure. We all assume that someone will take care of the child. Maybe it will be a loving parent or grandparent, or maybe a nice old aunt, or maybe there is no one at all to catch these children as they begin their plunge into a life of failure and one disappointment after another. When will this foolishness come to an end?
No one is expecting any one person to be the guardian angel of our children who suddenly find themselves in trouble. That is a responsibility that must be accepted from society as a whole whereby we finally say to everyone, who has intentions that may result in the damage of any child, that we are mad as hell and we are not going to take it anymore.
No one person can do that. But, you can ensure that your children are protected. If we all will simply do that, the result will be quick and phenomenal. Think about your kids and where they will be 10 years from now. When asked, did you have a happy childhood; are you prepared for their answer? I hope so!
For further information, visit www.voice4victims.com
If you are interested in having Mr. Hall speak at your next club or group meeting, please email contact information to:
SHall BadgeNotes@aol.com
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