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Another Mother's Story
A grief stricken mother stands before a group of people wrenchingly relating a story of the horrible unnecessary death of her child. Her child, brilliant, well-educated, and dedicated to the welfare and suffering of others was struck down too soon by an act of wreckless criminal foolishness.
Some young fool stole a car and drove it with selfish abandon up a sidewalk killing the mothers child, dashing any hopes of a future sterling life of service and goodwill. The young car thief walked away with minor cuts and scratches.
The names are unecessary. This type of scenario happens all too many times in neighborhoods across this country. Although it seems to happen with greater frequency in the inner city it is not restricted to it. It is a national problem.
But at this time the mother is not really concerned about whether it is a problem with society, lack of proper law enforcement, or this societies' systematic degradation of moral behaviour. And although the words never leave her lips in public the tone says it all. The mother wants vengence.
Damn justice. She wants the perpetrator of her child's death to suffer. He gets to live. Her child doesn't.
There are many things that can be said about the causes of this type of tragedy. The criminal was poor, brought up in a bad uncaring family.Perhaps his parents were drug or alcohol abusers so caught up in there addictions that they couldn't spare the proper nuturing time needed for the upraising of the children. Maybe they just didn't care.Their downward spiral could be attributed to lack of education or under employment.The reasons could be many but few are truly justifiable when the outcome is criminal neglect.
The young woman struck down by the senseless car theft is at rest. A terrible waste of such great potentiality. And with the young thiefs capture and induction into the crimal justice system,another life lost. A life that has yet to realize that he too has potential to great things. The difference being is one, who was nurtured and guided perhaps now rests in heavenly peace, her destiny fulfilled while this young thief's destiny is to be one of living hell.
The young woman was perhaps steered so she could see the greater world ahead of her, a glowing hope that lay before her, obtainable with hard work, dedication and love.The young criminal sees only hatred, despair, abuse,
violence and if he is lucky, a quick death. Perhaps this will finally quell the need for revenge in the mothers heart. Perhaps not.
But what if the young thief doesn't die and is released unrehabilitated back into society bitter,hate-filled and unprepared to survive civilly in society. He is now hardened and better trained in criminality because unless one struggles to keep straight the only lessons to be learned are how to survive at any cost. A lot of times the cost being the life of another young innocent brilliant mind or two. Where does it end? Who's fault is it really?
And who's ultimate responsibility is it? Yours, mine, ours? If it takes a village to raise a child it surely must take society to raise a nation.
We cannot rely upon politicians as they bend to the will of the people, or to be more accurate corporate interests, who claim to have the will of the people at heart. We cannot rely upon the police to stop these horrible atrocities as most times their hands are tied enforcing the laws and protecting the property of corporate interest, and in these endeavors are often more brutal than the criminals themselves. We cannot even rely on spiritual leaders as they many times are more concerned with their financial self-interest than our spiritual interests.
If we truly wish to raise this nation to it's higher moral, political, social, and spiritual potential and stop the senseless continuing spiral of violence, we as the people must organize and do it ourselves.
Just as the parents of the young woman who was murdered took it upon themselves to see to it that their child got the best chance they could give her to succeed we as a society must do the same for all children.
All life and children are sacred and equaly important,no matter how good or bad we might think them to be. Because if we do not think this way and act accordingly we will continue to hear mothers' tearfully mourning the brutal losses of their children either by potential criminals or by prison industrial unrehabilitated ones. I for one cannot stand another broken heart due to grieving mothers crying over their children because we did not care enough to put our petty differences, self-gratification and self-fulfillment aside long enough to save all the children and care for one another.
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"If there is No Struggle, There is No Progress," Frederick Douglass