We shall walk together on this path of life,
for all things are part of the universe and are connected with each other to
form one whole unity. -- Maria Montessori
An Open Letter to the Children
--by Randall Amster, syndicated from huffingtonpost.com, Dec 14, 2014
Dear
Children,
I
know that this world must often seem confusing to you. It's noisy, dirty and
filled with adults scurrying about their busy lives without noticing you all
that much sometimes. It's filled with rules and people telling you what to do,
mostly without asking what you want to do. It's also a world where adults teach
you about all of the dangers around you, but not as much about the wonderful,
beautiful things.
You
see, things weren't quite like this when we were kids. We had our rules and
dangers, to be sure, but nothing like the ones you face today. Back then (which
is not really that long ago), people talked to each other more, neighbors knew
one another and schools were less like factories and more like playgrounds.
There were less televisions, computers and phones calling for our attention, and
there were more open spaces to play like kids are supposed to do.
Most
importantly, it wasn't a world where it felt like people were hurting each other
all the time. Today, it seems like so many of the things you see -- both real
things in the news and fake things like in video games and movies -- include
people hurting each other, hurting themselves and hurting the world around them.
It isn't your fault that things are like this. It's the fault of us adults, and
we're sorry.
I
know that an apology doesn't make it all better. I also know that you might have
heard some terrible things lately about children who were hurt, and even killed,
at a school in Connecticut. Please know that this horrible thing has a lot of
adults feeling heartbroken, and that many of us are determined to work for a
world where things like this don't happen anymore.
But
we can't keep everything bad from happening. Most of the adults you know are
just trying to live and work in the world, but don't always control what happens
in it. We have appointments to keep, messages to answer, bills to pay and chores
to do. All of this leaves us little time for the things that really matter.
Sadly, it leaves us little time to think about what the world is doing to all of
you.
This
is not an excuse for our actions. We've let ourselves get caught up in the pace
of our lives, and we've become distracted from the important issues that we all
need to work on together. For too long, we've ignored your ideas and failed to
listen to your voices. If we had, we would better appreciate the sense of wonder
and innocence that you represent, how you see things from closer to the earth
than we do, how you express your emotions honestly and revel in your imaginative
play.
Meanwhile,
too many of us adults have looked the other way while the world we're leaving
behind for you has been damaged in ways that will be hard to fix. Basic things
that people have mostly taken for granted in recent years -- like food, water
and shelter -- will be harder for you to find. Quiet moments, nature experiences
and open spaces will be more difficult to come by. Your chance to be hopeful
about the future will be less than ours was, unless...
Unless
adults listen to you more and stop acting like we have all the answers. We
don't. We've just learned how to exist in this world, but we need you to help us
remember how to live in it. Can you help us? That might sound
strange, to have adults asking you to help us,
but we really need you to. In return, you can count on us to help you, by making
a better world, and mostly by loving you with all our hearts.
And
that means all of you, every child in the world. We can't let even one of you go
through this life feeling unloved or unappreciated. This means children here in
the United States, and all around the world. It means that we have to start
thinking more about other people's children, and about how too many of them are
being hurt every day -- sometimes even by the choices we make as adults when we
buy things, ignore things or focus only on our own lives and forget about all
the other people out there.
It
also means that you, as the future of the world, will have to start learning
right away what it means to be a "citizen of the world." You are connected to
people all over the globe and in the places where you live, and this will not
change. You are connected to the trees and animals, to the air and water and to
everything in nature that provides us with everything we need to live. You are
connected to each other, to your families and friends, to the ancestors who came
before you, and to the children of your own that you will have someday. Please
do not forget this. It is probably the most important thing for you to know.
Please
forgive us, dear children. Forgive us for not telling you all of this sooner,
for not slowing down in our busy lives and looking in our hearts long enough to
speak with you rather than at you. Please forgive us for waiting until a
terrible tragedy happened to realize how important you all are to us, and how irresponsible we've been
by not paying close enough attention to the future of the world we're leaving
for you. It's your world, after all, and we're just borrowing it.
Finally,
please know that we love you. We always have and we always will. If you ever
felt unloved, it's our fault and not yours. We can't fix the past, but we can
work together to make a better future. It won't be easy, but it can be fun: more
playing, more sharing, more listening, more friends, more love! Not only will
this help you -- it will also help us adults remember what it means to be happy,
healthy, safe, valued, and filled with joy for life.
Thank
you, children, for reminding us of this. You are our teachers, and we are ready
to learn again.
This article originally appeared in the Huffington Post and is republished here with permission. Randall Amster, J.D., Ph.D., is Director of the Program on Justice and Peace at Georgetown University, and serves as Executive Director of the Peace and Justice Studies Association. He is the author of books includingPeace Ecology (Paradigm Publishers, 2014), Anarchism Today (Praeger, 2012), and Lost in Space: The Criminalization, Globalization, and Urban Ecology of Homelessness (LFB Scholarly, 2008).
Be The Change: Ask a child
what is beautiful to them. Tell them what is beautiful to you,
too.
Sourced from www.dailygood.org
Sourced from www.dailygood.org
