Where Do The Children Play?

The unintentional spotlight of media frequently seems to shine its vexatious light upon apparent trends in our society. So it seems this week with a trio of stories regarding the brutality of the life of children in Canada. While it may seem that this has been a particularly brutal week, the more awful truth is that daily children across Canada suffer much and find little protection afforded them by the state.

It would be easy to point fingers here at government agencies, political or social agendas, blame moral decline or simply rant about racial inequalities, but I'll try not to. The sad realization is that what the children of this generation are experiencing is no different from any previous generation or time in human history. Even the Biblical record attests to Israel sacrificing their children to bloodthirsty gods of the day.

The children always pay the highest price for our greed and anger. But they can be saved. I have a friend who has risen above the cruelty of the childhood abuse they faced and is becoming one of the most beautiful people I know. I have faced my own experience of abuse and come through it to a place where I can forgive and be released. But, even so, even as these stories give me hope that God can reclaim what we throw away, I am convinced that we do not yet do enough to protect the least vulnerable in our society.

Our society is voting not to have children. The number of childless couples by choice has risen to over 17% in the last generation. Canadians no longer produce enough offspring to replace our dying numbers, let alone replace our retiring workers. In such a state can children ever hope to become a priority?

Right now as I write this entry I'm listening to the sounds of 5 children attending the play school held in our church. They are upstairs, gleefully playing on a plethora of percussion instruments. In the face of ugly stories about children abused and lost it is the most beautiful sound in the whole world to me.

Any society can best measure its capacity for fairness, justice and compassion based upon how well it cares for the most vulnerable of its members and how far it will go to protect them. I refute what P.E. Trudeau said about our nation. We are part of a society that is neither fair nor just. And until the children of Canada occupy the position of most cherished of our citizens - we never will be.