Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them. Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
-Matthew 19:13-14
Future historians will critique the unique experiment created by the founding fathers and known as America based on how it has treated her children. If we look at our history up to this first decade of the 21st Century, it is not looking good. There is a litany of things that signal insincerity about how America treats children.
The most glaring red flag is America’s education system. In the age of the most advanced technology that the world has ever known, many public schools are still using a 19th century model. It makes no sense that every child in the public school system does not have his or her own Laptop. Or Notepad. Or IPAD. Or Kindle. Children in America should be communicating with children all over the world. After all, we are part of a global economy now, and knowing how to get along with people all over the world must start early. Also, there is no good reason for any school in America to still be operating on a nine month schedule. Because one never stops learning, the mission of schools should be to never stop teaching. Those who teach our children must recognize that they have our most precious jewels in their possession. To rob a child of a good educational foundation is to rob an adult of the right to life, liberty, and justice. It is therefore NOT ok to determine the kind of education a child gets based on money. It is not OK for teachers to enter into sexual relationships with their students. It is NOT ok for teachers to cheat on standardized tests. It is NOT ok for children to graduate from high school without being able to read. It is not OK for America’s teachers to not be compensated competitively in the job market. It is NOT ok when parents do not play a critical role in the education of their children. It is NOT OK for children to feel threatened in school by bullies and have no one to turn to. It is NOT ok for children who are different to feel the only way out is suicide.
Bad behavior by the nation’s politicians set the stage for young Americans to be disrespectful. Children hear what we say, but they also watch what we do. 2008 should have been a year that catapulted America into being what we have always said we were-the United States of America. For the first time in our nation’s history, a man who self identified as a Black American was elected to the Presidency of the United States. His victory was overwhelming. There was no question that he won by a huge majority. And his supporters came from all walks of life and all ethnic and racial backgrounds. It appeared as if a very ugly part of our nation’s history was finally going to fade into the pages of history. It did not take long for reality to set in. President Obama spent his first few months in office working non-stop. He traveled all over the world building bridges among allies and not so friendly countries alike in an attempt to show a side of America many countries had not seen before. He invited the opposition party to the White House numerous times. Some times they attended, but many times they declined. How do you refuse to come to the White House when the President of the United States asks you? The former Vice-President under the administration that created many of the ills which the country was facing spent all his time criticizing President Obama before he even had a chance to do anything. The opposition party and the media disrespects President Obama by not addressing him by his official title-President Barack Obama. They call him simply Obama. President Obama, I believe, will turn out to be one of the smartest presidents this country has ever had. And one of the most conciliatory. His biography is impressive and he started out where many of the nation’s at risk kids start. He was raised by a single parent; he spent a few years with his mom and her new husband, and then went to live with his grandparents. He had some early experimentation with drugs and at one point did not take education as seriously as he should have. He had an attitude adjustment, and went on to graduated from one of the nation’s top universities. Instead of immediately going to work for a firm where he would have made big money, he moved to a depressed part of Chicago and tried to help by doing community organizing. He met and married a local girl and together they are raising two healthy, happy, and intelligent little girls. There are apparently no skeletons in his very public closet (If there were we would know about them by now). This community organizing led him to run for his first political seat. His biography should have been embraced by all those who like to talk about pulling yourself up by your bootstraps. Instead, the politicos and pundits tried -and still try-to turn these positive life lessons into partisan jokes. What must our children think about all of this? What motivation does this give them to strive hard to do well in school and go to college? Will any of them look at our politicians and say I want to be just like them? Are our children learning how to work together for the common good?
Drug use among America’s children is far too high. While it has leveled off from past years, it is still problematic today. Who is asking why pre-teens feel the need to take drugs? Are labels such as A.D.D. and hyperactivity useful? Why are teachers allowed to recommend that certain school children be given prescribed drugs as a prerequisite to remain in school? How much money are pharmaceutical companies making off these drugs? Why do we not listen to experts who say that yesterday’s Ritalin user is tomorrow’s cocaine user? When will America’s moms and dads realize that children live what they learn? When children see parents medicate with prescribed drugs (or self medicate with over the counter drugs and alcohol), guess what they think is acceptable behavior?
Violent criminal behavior by America’s children is a threat to everyone. No one is safe, no neighborhood is immune, and no family is exempt. We must ask the hard questions and be willing to accept the truth-no matter how uncomfortable that truth may be. Movies are far too explicit and violent. Video games go too far in depicting violent and sexual acts. Musical acts, actors, and reality stars are rewarded much too often for bad girl and bad boy behavior. Children are not adults and they therefore are not able to process all this stimuli with their adolescent brain. This brain tells them that the worst behavior is rewarded with the most money and most attention, so bad must be good. It does not take a rocket scientist to figure this out.
Far too many of our nation’s children’s are runaways. Why? Would a child run away from a focused and loving home? And if they would, what has happened in their life that tells them they do not deserve love? A runaway that stays outside of their home for a prolonged period of time often turns to drugs, gangs, prostitution-or a combination of all three. Living on the street is almost impossible for an adult, so a child has very little chance of having a good outcome. Hard questions must be asked of the parents, the schools, social service agencies, juvenile justice. Who missed the signs? How can they all come together and do better for our children.
Lastly, our nation’s children have become the victim of choice for far too many adult predators. It is NOT ok for children to be abducted out of their own homes. It is NOT ok for fathers to have sexual relations with their daughters or step-daughters. It is NOT ok for mothers to treat their sons as if they are their boyfriends. It is NOT ok for children to be abducted from playgrounds or malls. It is NOT ok for adults to gain the trust of children and then treat them like sexual toys. Punishment for adults who prey on children should be as severe as punishment for those who murder. It certainly should be as severe as that for animal cruelty, recreational drug use, aggravated assault, and theft.
It is time for all Americans to roll up our sleeves, prepare to get dirty, and DO something about the tragedy that is all too often the future that awaits our nation’s children. The rhetoric must end and the work must get started.
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