Kid's Prayer

Saturday afternoon, December 15, 2012. I was strolling through Smith Haven Mall alone while my wife shopped. Something I have done many times before, but this day was different. This was the day after the events of 12/14/12 in Sandy Hook, Connecticut. It’s the height of the Christmas shopping season and I noticed little children more than I did on previous visits. I see parents holding little hands and carrying their kids, some even cuddling. I imagined, many of these kids wondered why the attention level on them had suddenly increased.

The massacre that occurred the day before had affected me, like many others, on a gut level, not only as a parent, but as a human. I see kids in the age range of the dead and I can’t get my brain around the thought of what those families are going through. Unable to leave the house, turn on the TV or the radio. Christmas and Hanukkah decorations still up. Struggling to keep it together for the sake of the other children they may have in their family. The focus going from unwrapped presents to a closed casket. Knowing the world is grieving with them now, but within a week, the attention will be gone and they will be left alone with only memories.

Social media is lighting up with candles, prayers, political debates for gun control and people just looking for reasons. There are no reasons. It’s time to admit the human race is a flawed experiment. Laws, technology, education will not change our makeup. We are just as primitive as the caveman. Still killing each other, no matter where or how we live, or what God we believe in. Each person has free will to act in good or evil. We can change our mind at any moment.

People are concerned that the world has gotten worse. It hasn't. I grew up in the 60’s. The decade of drugs, racial tension, political turmoil, the Vietnam War, the threat of communism, the Cuban missile crisis, etc. The world was not a better place back then. There is no such thing as the “good old days”. Every decade had challenges from the Civil War, The Great Depression, The Dust Bowl and The Holocaust and we got through it. Many people died. There was evil back then too. The number of deaths has not increased, it just got redirected.

I would like to believe that we have the power to change this pattern. I have hope for a new generation. At the age of 55, I fear I may never see it. I have a sinking feeling that things will get worse before they get better. However, relying on politicians, religious leaders and educators to fix this is not the answer.

There is only one possible answer.

 

US

WE HAVE TO DO IT
 

Through our children.

They are the ones who can save us from ourselves. They are the only hope for civilization.

BUT HOW?

SIMPLE
 

There is a relatively unknown singer/songwriter named Dan Bern who wrote a song called “Kids Prayer”. It says it all. Here is just an excerpt from it, followed by the entire song. Have a listen, have a good cry, then change the world.

Dan Bern - Kid's Prayer

Talk to your kids
Play with your kids
Tell them your dreams
And your disappointments
Listen with your kids
Listen to your kids
Watch your kids
Let your kids watch you
Tell your kids the truth
Best as you can tell it
No use telling lies
Your kids can always smell it
Cook for your kids
Let your kids cook for you
Sing with your kids
Teach your kids the blues
Learn their games
Teach them yours
Touch your kids
Find out what they know
Be sad with your kids
Be stupid with your kids
Learn with your kids
Cry with you kids
Be yourself with your kids
Be real with your kids
Embarrass your kids
Let them embarrass you
Be strong with your kids
Be tough with your kids
Be firm with your kids
Say "No" to your kids
Say "Yes" to your kids
Take it easy on your kids
You were a kid
Not so long ago
There are things you know
Your kids will never know
There’s places they live
Where you will never go
So dance with your kids
Paint with your kids
Walk with your kids
Tell stories to your kids
Watch movies with your kids
Eat popcorn with your kids
Tell secrets to your kids
Stop for rainbows with your kids
One day your kids
Won't be kids
And maybe they'll have kids of their own
Let’s hope they talk to their kids
Play with their kids
Tell them their dreams
And their disappointments

Dan Bern - Kid's Prayer http://youtu.be/uSke5BSzSjk