Children egg us on to become better villagers
By Alice Felts
Putting politics aside for a little while, I have found that Hillary Clinton was right about at least one thing. It does take a village to rear children...or at least to take them to the big city for the annual White House Easter Egg Roll.
My grandchildren's other grandmother, Linda Wright, received special tickets for the event and invited me to join her in taking Lanning, 5, and Edison, 3, for a day of bunnies, eggs, magic shows and music. Both of us were confident that we could face driving in early-morning traffic, finding a nearby parking space, holding little hands and finding bathrooms without a lot of notice.
But as we started making plans, my son-in-law Ed diplomatically pronounced his interest in going, while my daughter Kimberly stayed home with the newborn. Then grand-daddy Barry decided he wanted to go, too.
Still confident that we could have done this as a twosome, Linda and I put aside our ambitious plans to take the children to D.C. on the Metro and piled in with everyone else into the SUV.
All progressed smoothly during our adventure, and by the end of the day, the two grandmothers admitted that “we couldn't have done it without the guys.” Even with thousands of people moving quickly in long lines and volunteers helping at every turn, there was a lot happening on the great lawn. Keeping up with very active youngsters is definitely for the young.
Considering 22,000 people were issued tickets, it was a peaceful, relatively quiet environment, with very few crying children. Everyone was taking their time with no rushing or inconsiderate bumping into each other.
But there was a lot to see beyond the obvious. Although there was a maternal sense in the air, there were as many men in attendance as women. Other men were as smart as my son-in-law; they had anticipated that they would be needed, too. Children were so comfortable that they often took the hand of a stranger while waiting in line. When Lanning did that, the woman in front of us laughed and said to her, “You've got the wrong mother.” Ironically at the same time, a very small toddler grabbed Linda's hand, sensing that she was a safe haven.
Although the children may have been a little confused at times, there was one thing that was evident. They felt special, safe and confident. And that brought to mind all of the children in our country, and others, who do not feel that way. There are millions of children who are hungry, homeless and unhealthy. Countless neglected children are not taught values, appropriate behaviors or respect.
In Virginia alone, more than 50,000 referrals of child abuse were reported in 2004, according to the 2007 Child Welfare League of America report. Almost 7,000 Virginia children in 2004 lived away from their families in an out-of-home environment. In 2005, 33,000 children younger than 18 were arrested in Virginia.
Whose fault is it? It is the fault of parents, grandparents, teachers, community leaders, our elected officials....the whole village...our whole global society. It has a lot to do with the everyday decisions that we, the villagers, make.
I reflected on what Hillary had said in her 1996 book: “Children have many lessons to share with us — lessons about what they need, what makes them happy, how they view the world. If we listen, we'll be able to hear them.”
Guess you can't put politics aside, after all.
E-mail the reporter: afelts@timespapers.com