Reflections

Feb 24, 2009 15:49

I watched her go uncelebrated into the second grade,
A greenless child,
Gray among the orange and yellow,
Attached too much to corners and to other people’s sunshine.
She colors the rainbow brown
And leaves balloons unopened in their packages.
Oh, who will touch this greenless child?
Who will plant alleluias in her heart
And send her dancing into all the colors of God?
Or will she be left like an unwrapped package on the kitchen table -
Too dull for anyone to take the trouble?
Does God think we’re her keeper?

This is a poem I heard the other night when I attended a speech by Marian Wright Edelman. I went with REJ in preparation for our trip to Mississippi. Marian is basically amazing. She was the first black women to practice law in Mississippi, is the founder & president of the Children's Defense Fund, is a social advocate and was awarded the McArthur Foundation Prize Fellowship (aka the genius award). She was speaking on how poorly America treats its children. How one in six children live in poverty in America, how they become victims of a vicious cycle. She stated some powerful statistics. For example, our nation spends three times more per prisoner than it does per public school pupil. California? Four times as much! How astounding.
Our nation, and our state, constantly say we don't have enough money to fund things, but it just isn't true, we choose to spend our money on other things. If we poured more money into the public school systems, it's a pretty safe bet that there would be a whole lot less prisoners to take care of. Frederick Douglass said "It is easier to build strong children then to fix broken men". How true. And yet, how sad that it is so hard to take care of children while they are still children. Why don't we have the funds? Why don't we have the government's cooperation? Marian said that our nation is "economicly and militarily powerful, but spiritually anemic" that we have a moral achilles heel. Again, how true.
But even still, from a business stand point it makes sense. Spend more now and save money in the long run. So why doesn't our nation do more for the children? Could it be racism, social prejudice?
Another statistic: 1 in 3 black boys born in 2001 are likely to end up in jail. WOW. And as Christians, why aren't we doing more? We are ALL children of God, why do we let so many die, so many grow up and become involved in drugs, crime, sinful lives, and we do nothing to help, nothing to stop. Why don't we love the children more? Why are there two different forms of government healthcare for children that really just allow for kids to fall through the bureaucratic cracks? It doesn't make sense to me. Let us help the children, seriously, what would Jesus do?
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