Posted by john on July 25, 2002 at 11:00:31:
In Reply to: They're Taking Our Children posted by Pollavon on July 25, 2002 at 07:50:19:
: I am so deeply saddened and frightened that our children are being taken, stolen, abducted, raped, sodomized, asphyxiated, butchered- murdered in the largest sense. What is happening in this culture that is creating such a rash of soullessness? We can’t say it’s lack of religion- we’ve got tons of that. Is it the weight of the world, the pressures of consumerism, the generation of people parented by alcoholics, drug addicts, violent abusers, sexual molesters and those riddled with chronic depression and debilitating illness?
: You can tell me that statistics say only 1 in blah blah thousands of children get taken but that won’t help. It’s still happening. It is changing the face of how we live and what freedoms our children will have or have not. Will I need to homeschool Roan just to make sure that I’m with her, that she’s being protected? Will the front yard become a place of potential danger instead of the dream I thought having a home would be?
: When I say our children I mean it. Every child belongs to us on a spiritual level because we are all connected within God. When they hurt, the face of humanity receives a tearing, jagged rip. They are our future. What can we do today to make certain they know compassion, understanding, unconditional love, kindness and patience?
: Please pray for the children, our diseased culture and each other.
This is a very sensitive spot with me as well. I can't stand to see people abuse those who can't defend themselves. I don't think there is any hope in government programs or any such thing. I think the only solution is to take back what is ours. It has been proven time and again that power lies with the people. In drug infestations, in neighborhood improvement, and in this case too. all it requires is for those who feel strongly to stand up and drive out the wrong. To insist that our children are safe and to step into the gap when someone isn't meeting their responsibility.
We have gotten complacent in a culture where the government is expected to take care of us, but it just can't. It is too big. We have to take responsibility for our communities and our children. Years ago, and in other cultures, you can't commit these acts because people know what's going on and they prevent it. I watch your child, you watch mine, and we all make it known that if you don't come in peace you aren't welcome here. And for those children in our area without enough parental guidance we need to stand in for them for the children's sake. This is the revolutionary aspect of Christianity. It gives us a framework from which to operate.
And of course this is why I advocate living in a community...by this I mean living around your friends and family instead of living around strangers and keeping your relations elsewhere.
Lastly this is not idle talk for me. I mean it that I feel responsible to care for those in my family who accept it, and for children regardless. I know you do as well Paula. And I say let these concerns spur us to action. If a few little old ladies can take a neighborhood from drug dealers by standing around them and singing hymns every time they come around, what can we do as strong and fit beings. We have a responsibility to stand for what is right. And as Christians we are empowered to be the light post around which others gather, the impetus. Why do we lay down and ignore it?
...It fires me up to think about these things.