Children are supposed to be prized and nurtured carefully. So say one and all in this Country. Sometimes, the lucky ones are. For many, childhood is not even a nightmare anymore. They are so beaten down that their lives are geared toward sheer existence, Nightmare implies a contrast, an awareness of benevolence. A lot of kids see little hope for that.
Stop and think what it is like to be raised in poverty, never knowing when or what you will eat, wearing used clothes donated from some charity. How would you feel going to school and knowing that when you get home, Mom will not be there to greet you and, in fact, will not be home until late at night because she is working at least 2 jobs? Dad, well, if Dad is even still around, he likely is working even more hours.
How would you feel watching TV and seeing others dining on roasts and fish and chicken surrounded by good vegetables, bowls of fresh fruit on the tables, yogurt and milk and eggs in the refrigerator and knowing that you are going to do well to get some generic sugary cereal, a cheap hot dog, and some spaghettios for your meals, if you are having a good day?
How would you feel if you, as a child, had no home and were forced to sleep on the street, in a car, or maybe in a cardboard box, or, if you are very lucky, a shelter? Shelters are about as dangerous as the streets . Maybe, once in a while, Mom or Dad can scrape together enough to stay a few days in a cheap motel. Let me tell you; I know from personal experience, many of those are not a lot better than the street. Think that does not happen? Statistics show that one fourth of all the many homeless in this land are children.
Suppose you do have a home and a Mom and Dad. You likely will not see them a lot because they are always working. Children should not be alone most of the time. They should not be forced to raise themselves because they just do not have the experience to know what to do. Maybe, if lucky, they get supervision from Grandparents but, that is not the same. Each generation should raise its own kids, Grandma may be well meaning, but she is from a different time and will not, cannot know the nuances and dangers of the current culture.
Perhaps worse are children who have abusive parents. I am not talking about a dad that occasionally swats Junior on the rear end. I have seen parents who think nothing of beating the utter crap out of their kids. Yes, kids have always been physically abused but it seems to be an increasing problem, especially as the rates of alcohol and drug abuse continue to rise.
What to do? First, as I said in my last post, we need to get a grip on how the Government throws around our money. Get these damn wars over and stop interfering in other Countries' business. Stop subsidizing industries; if they cannot make it without help, they need to go broke and make room for those who know how to do business. Then, with taxes lowered, people can afford to make life better for kids and devote more money toward education and more time to teaching their kids how to be decent humans.
Equally, if not more important, we need to get rid of our obsession with wealth for its own sake. I like nice things and comfort and understand that everyone else feels the same. But, do we all need 3 cars, 5 computers, 4 TVs and a multitude of smart phones. Do we have to dine in 5 star restaurants and pay $200 for concert tickets for some aging rock stars latest tour, $100 for 1 round of golf, and sip $10 drinks after work? Can we not find less expensive ways to entertain ourselves? Are we that bored and that uncreative? Think of all the good that could be done for kids, and, actually for ourselves, if we just used our heads.
I will tell you this. Kids today are being given a very hopeless view of a very unpleasant World. They are growing up thinking they have nothing to gain. Well, logically, if you have nothing, and see nothing to gain, you have nothing to lose, and there is no more dangerous creature on this planet than a human with nothing to lose.
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