What About the Children
I believe that children are a gift. They carry powerful wisdom and are great teachers. When supported with love and care they blossom and become extraordinary contributors to society. I grew up poor and on welfare, but I had a mother who was determined we should be educated and create a good life for us. She encouraged us to dream and move beyond our circumstances.
I adopted my two children. They have been one of the greatest gifts of my life, and I am clear without “divine intervention” their lives would look dramatically different today. My children had the same biological mother, and she ultimately had ten children she was not economically; nor emotionally prepared to support. I am clear she birthed my sons for me.
Around the world, we are seeing a rise in gang and terrorist recruitment because children are homeless, parentless and community-less. We are seeing fewer of our children being educated and therefore, often, left in a crisis. They have no concept of what it means to thrive or be a world citizen. What they do know is survival is their only focus.
As we have huge debates on abortion rights, my thoughts turn to how we as a society care for all the children who are currently hungry, depressed, and in the streets. The foster care system is challenged, and once kids reach eighteen years old, they enter society without adequate skills to support themselves. Bringing more children on the planet without answering these questions seems absurd to me.
About 20 years ago, I wrote a song entitled “What About the Children.” I was beginning to witness and become concerned about the children of the world. I never recorded it, but I will share the lyrics with you later in this blog.
Education
Last year I was standing in line at an airport. We were ready to board, and I had an instant connection with a fantastic woman. Her name is Carol Carter, and she shared her passion for educating children. She has authored and published many books. In the last few years, Carol has turned her attention to first generation kids going to college. Her passion fueled a movement called GlobalMindEd. The tagline for the organization reads: Closing the Equity Gap through Education, Entrepreneurship, Employment, Experiences, and Economic Mobility.
In June of this year, I was a presenter at their conference. Over 1,000 bright and passionate thought leaders came together to create seeds of hope for all who are in pursuit of equity and opportunities for First-Gen students and graduates.
Presenting at this conference was deeply personal for me. My granddaughter had just become a statistic of the myriad of first-generation children who do not succeed in college during their first year because of a lack of skills and educational preparation. Our family has rallied to support my granddaughter. However, many of our high schools, especially in urban communities are not preparing our children to move into higher education institutions which require them to stretch and focus in unexpected ways.
The question, which plagues me, is when did we, as a nation, become so disinterested in educating all people? Families living in economic crisis feel helpless and hopeless. Schools and out-of-date textbooks in some communities are not supporting health and well-being. Whether it is in the structures of the buildings, old and outmoded books or disillusioned teachers, many children have nowhere to turn to escape. They surrender the patterns of uneducated parents and non-supportive behavioral patterns.
The Border Children
Let me begin by saying I believe every country must place high attention on national security and the safety of its citizens. I am also clear war, drug cartels, and terrorists are forcing innocent people to run for their lives and seek assistance to create safety for their families. This is a world crisis.
My unease in our country is what is happening to kids at the border. When I heard children were being separated from their parents, I was horrified. Not only are the kids suffering but also they are traumatized by leaving their homes. They are also now in places that are unfamiliar, not set up to care for them and have no way of knowing where their parents are located. Parents are sick, upset and have no way to contact their children to tell them they are okay. Some of the caregivers in these makeshift camps see the kids as intruders and do not treat them with respect. This is what I know. Children feel the energy and understand dishonoring. Reports tell us some parents have been deported without their children, and the system is in chaos trying to gain clarity on what to do with these children. We do not know where the parents are and now, these kids become the responsibility of our country.
I do not consider myself an activist. I do find myself a lover of humanity and advocate for caring for our children and each other. I believe we are more than what we are witnessing regarding our children and the treatment of people who are suffering. I invite you to bring your voice to this conversation. Speak up, stand up, pray, volunteer, march and do whatever is necessary to ask our leaders, institutions and community organizations to make children a priority. Children deserve our love and attention.
Here are the lyrics to the song I wrote. Thank you for connecting. Together, we make a difference.
WHAT ABOUT THE CHILDREN (Lyrics)
We sip cocktails over contracts
Discuss the latest cause
How we’d like to make a change
But we have no time to pause
We complain about our leaders
As we listen to the news
The horrors of the system
And the depths of all our dues
What about the children
They’re running barefoot in the street
They’re making armies
They’re on their own
Why can’t we see …the dangers of the seeds that we have sown?
CHORUS
What about the Children
What about the Children
What about the Children…
We make guns that shoot through steel
Bombs that mutants make
Then we talk of peace around the world for the whole of mankind’s sake
Then we shuttle to the moon
Needing new frontiers to roam
Forgetting in the search
That we first must heal our own
What about the children
They’re running barefoot in the street
They’re making armies
They’re on their own
Why can’t we see …the dangers of the seeds that we have sown?
CHORUS
What about the Children
What about the Children
What about the Children…
