Category Archives: Save Our Children

Thought for Today: Parents For A Future

12 Sunday Jun 2022

Posted by in Anthropogenic Climate Disruption, Save Our Children

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Front Cover: Parents For A Future: How Loving Our Children Can Prevent Climate Collapse by Rupert Read
Photo Credit: Parents For A Future

I hope [parents for a future] will be fuelled by rage—the righteous rage that springs from love for their most vulnerable. Rage that the world has left it too late to enjoy a smooth transition to a system that can last…. I hope they’ll be honest and courageous enough to face the dreadful reality that things are going to get worse for our children for quite a long time to come even if we now truly do our best…. [Climate disasters] are coming; they are worsening. We can only seek to mitigate them in the true sense of that word. Which means adapting to what is here and what is coming in a manner that mitigates the force of the blow, shrinks as fast as possible the ongoing harm we are doing, and transforms our system to a better one: more local in its economics, more resilient, less materialistic, slower, more equal, more caring and relational, saner…. I hope that you, parents of the future, take it into your own hands, together, to change things in this way, in this direction. I hope that you won’t wait around for [governments] to fix things, but that you’ll get on with transforming your community, and what you can; because y(our) kids can’t wait.

Excerpt from “A Proposal: Parents For A Future” (p. 150), Parents For A Future: How Loving Our Children Can Prevent Climate Collapse by Rupert Read, UEA Publishing Project, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK, 2021.

PROFESSOR RUPERT READ is based in the Philosophy Department at the University of East Anglia. He is widely known in the UK for getting the BBC (in 2018) to change its policy of featuring climate-deniers to ‘balance’ the facts when reporting on dangerous human-caused climate change. He has been a national spokesperson for Extinction Rebellion and for the Green Party, and was formerly a two-term elected Green Party local Councillor in Norwich. He is an expert on the Precautionary Principle, on which he has won AHRC grants and written reports for Parliamentarians. He is author of Philosophy for Life: Applying Philosophy in Politics and Culture (2007), This Civilisation is Finished: Conversations on the end of Empire and What Lies Beyond (2019), and Extinction Rebellion: Insights from the Inside (2020).

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“When we begin to build walls of prejudice, hatred, pride, and self-indulgence around ourselves, we are more surely imprisoned than any prisoner behind concrete walls and iron bars.” (Mother Angelica)

26 Sunday May 2019

Posted by in Save Our Children

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As we remember those who have fallen this Memorial Day, I share the thoughts of fellow blogger Larry “Dutch” Woller, a Vietnam veteran.

Maybe No More Children Will Die

I sit here looking at the news
The powers wanted peace they say,
And while they spoke, bombs were dropped
20 children died that day!

Read more at On the Path Least Traveled

 

 

Henry Giroux on America’s Nightmare of Violence

17 Sunday Jan 2016

Posted by in Human Behavior, Save Our Children, United States

≈ 18 Comments

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Gun owners at gun-rights rally - Washington State - 15 January 2015

Gun owners at gun-rights rally
Capital, State of Washington – January 15, 2015
Photo Credit: The Washington Times/Associated Press
[See The White House Press Release, January 4, 2016, for
New Executive Actions to Reduce Gun Violence]

Violence sells. Violence wins book and movie awards. When Jamaican author, Marlon James, won the Man Booker Prize for Fiction 2015 for his novel A Brief History of Seven Killings, I was elated. I had to read it. Set in Jamaica and New York (1976-1991), it’s a literary masterpiece on the nature of human violence and the forces that fuel it. It’s not reading for the faint of heart.

In his article, “Gun Culture and the American Nightmare of Violence,” Henry A. Giroux notes: “Popular culture not only trades in violence as entertainment, but also it delivers violence to a society addicted to a pleasure principle steeped in graphic and extreme images of human suffering, mayhem and torture.” The inculcation of such make-believe violence as a normal part of real-life, especially among our youth, concerns him. Addressing the roots of America’s culture of violence becomes more difficult. Continue reading →

A Child is Born

20 Sunday Dec 2015

Posted by in Human Behavior, Poetry by Rosaliene Bacchus, Save Our Children

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Baby Born in Syrian Refugee Camp in Jordan

Baby born in Syrian Refugee Camp in Jordan
Photo Credit: BBC News

 

A child is born
his mother weeps at his cross
hewn by the Empire.

A child is born
his mother dies in childbirth
to bring him into light.

A child is born
a mother weeps for her daughter
born into bondage.

A child is born
a woman stands by in silence
while he spits out hate.

A child is born
mothers cry out in pain
when men rain fire on Earth.

A child is born
women feed men’s lust and greed
to dominate the world.

A child is born
male and female in harmony
they bring peace on Earth.

Wintry Blues

21 Sunday Dec 2014

Posted by in Family Life, Festivals, Save Our Children, United States

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Rain clouds hover over Downtown Los Angeles - December 2014Rain clouds hover over Downtown Los Angeles – December 2014
Photo Credit: ABC7 Eyewitness News

 

In the Northern Hemisphere, today is the first day of winter. The North Pole will tilt 23.5 degrees away from the Sun, making the Winter Solstice the shortest day or the longest night of the year.

I’ve got the wintry blues. In Southern California, we’ve been getting much needed rain. But the gray, heavily loaded sky crushes my Christmas spirit. The long nights cloak me in gloom. To add to my wintry woes, some bad news has further chilled my Christmas cheer. Such is the ever-changing journey called life. Anxiety can quickly smother our joy. Continue reading →

“In Search of Childhood” – Poem by Brazilian Poet Anilda Leão

19 Sunday Oct 2014

Posted by in Brazil, Poetry, Save Our Children

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Street Children - Sao Paulo - BrazilStreet Children in São Paulo – Brazil
Photo Credit: Devamor Amancio / ONG

 

October 12 is Children’s Day in Brazil. It’s a fun time for children across Brazil. On their special day, children receive toys from their parents and relatives. The day is celebrated with children parties, family outings, and special local events. It’s a day for families to share in the joys of childhood.

To commemorate Brazil’s Children’s Day, my Poetry Corner October 2014 features the poem “À Procura da Infância” (In Search of Childhood) by Brazilian poet Anilda Leão (1923-2012). Born in Maceió, capital of the Northeastern State of Alagoas, she grew up in a privileged middle-class family. Her father was a business owner and a respected politician in the 1940s and 1950s. Continue reading →

The People’s Climate March 2014: Join the Global Weekend for Action

14 Sunday Sep 2014

Posted by in Human Behavior, Nature and the Environment, People, Save Our Children, Social Injustice, United States

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People's Climate March - 20-21 September 2014

 

Has your life been changed by a record-breaking climatic event? Have you lost your home or means to support yourself and family because of climate change? Are you concerned about global warming and climate change? Are you frustrated with the inaction of our political and industrial leaders?

If you’ve answered “yes” to any of the above questions, here’s an opportunity to take action, to do your part. This coming weekend of September 20-21, 2014, let’s show up at the People’s Climate March in a city near us.

“The People’s Climate March is an invitation to anyone who’d like to prove to themselves, and to their children, that they give a damn about the biggest crisis our civilization has ever faced” said Bill McKibben, climate author and environmentalist turned activist, and co-founder of 350.ORG, a global climate movement.

In the United States, the major event will take place in New York City where the United Nations Climate Summit 2014 is scheduled for September 23. Heads of State and Government, together with leaders from business and civil society, are invited to announce significant and substantial initiatives to help move the world toward a path that will limit global warming (UN Press Release No. 6418 dated 11 August 2014).

“The race is on, and now is the time for leaders to step up and steer the world towards a safer future,” said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Extreme climatic conditions affect all aspects of our lives: health, economy (jobs), education, and the security of our families. The longer we delay to build cleaner, low-carbon economies, the more expensive it will become. The number of people worldwide facing hunger and malnutrition will catapult.

Learn more about how we got here and the consequences of ignoring climate change. Watch the documentary film, Disruption, produced by 350.ORG and released on September 7, 2014.

Over 1,000 organizations have pledged support for the People’s Climate March; over 300 colleges and universities are expected to attend. The world will be watching. For information about events in or near your location, go to the People’s Climate website.

We need ACTION, not more words. Join the People’s Climate March.

Show up.

Brazil Recalls its Ambassador from Israel

10 Sunday Aug 2014

Posted by in Brazil, Human Behavior, Save Our Children

≈ 6 Comments

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Smoke from Israeli attack on Gaza - July 2014Smoke from Israeli Attack on Gaza – July 2014
Photo Credit: Hatem Moussa /Associated Press

 

Since the foundation of the State of Israel in 1948 on Palestinian territory, the two nation states are locked in a death grip. The latest renewal of fighting exploded into a humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. Of the 700 dead and 4,000 injured Palestinians, an estimated 75 percent are civilians. A large part is children. On the Israeli side, only two civilians were numbered among the forty Israelis killed.

As the humanitarian crisis escalated in Gaza, Brazil took three measures to call international attention. On July 23, 2014, at a meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council, South America’s largest nation and economy voted in favor of a resolution calling for an investigation into alleged war crimes in the Gaza Strip. With a majority of twenty-nine votes in favor, the Human Rights Council passed the resolution. Remaining on the fence, Western European members abstained from participation. The United States was the only council member to reject the motion. Continue reading →

When will we learn?

27 Sunday Jul 2014

Posted by in Human Behavior, Immigrants, Save Our Children, United States

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American Protesters in Murrieta

Illegal Immigration or a Humanitarian Crisis?
American Protesters against influx of Central American Refugees
Murrieta – California – July 2014
Photo Credit: Politicus USA

 

Our choices, our behavior, our actions have consequences. Some good. Some bad. Some consequences take more than a lifetime for manifestation. That’s why it’s important to study history. History that distorts the truth is useless and harmful for learning.

In high school, I hated studying history. I saw no connection to my life. I finally get it. Everything that’s assailing us today has its roots in the distant and recent past. Not only have America’s foreign policies supported dictatorship governments that heap hardships upon their citizens, but we also have trade policies that affect local economies and peoples’ livelihood.

Consider the current overwhelming number of unaccompanied refugee children arriving at America’s southwest borders. The majority of them are fleeing gang and state violence in their homelands in Central America: El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. These three developing countries are part of the six-nation CAFTA-DR Free Trade Agreement with the United States, fully implemented in 2006.

Inconsequential? Coincidental?

The world we live in is of our own making. We set the course decades ago. Securing our borders with more troops will not resolve the humanitarian crisis we helped to spawn. Continue reading →

Bring Back our Girls: Mothers in Anguish

11 Sunday May 2014

Posted by in Family Life, Human Behavior, Save Our Children

≈ 8 Comments

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Bring Back Our Girls - Million-Woman March - Abjuja - Nigeria - 30 April 2014Bring Back Our Girls – “Million-Woman March” – Abuja – Capital of Nigeria
30 April 2014
Photo Credit: Gnomes National News Service

 

Mother’s Day. Today in the United States and in some countries around the world, we honor our mothers. We owe our mothers our lives and much more. But all is not rosy for mothers.

We women have been blessed or cursed, perhaps a bit of both, with Nature’s endowment of childbearing and child nurturing. Our role as child bearers is a labor of joy and sorrow, love and pain. We rejoice in our children’s achievements, however small; we suffer when they are sick or injured. If we could, we would take their pain. When they are bullied by their peers, we stand ready to defend them. When they are snatched from us, we find no solace.

For the mothers of over 270 girls kidnapped, almost a month ago, from their school in northeast Nigeria, this is a time of great anguish.

“It’s unbearable. Our wives have grown bitter and cry all day. The abduction of our children and the news of them being married off is like hearing of the return of the slave trade,” said Yakubu Ubalala (The Guardian).

Their 17- and 18-year-old daughters, Kulu and Maimuna, are among the girls kidnapped by the Boko Haram Islamic Fundamentalist group. The leader of the group has since threatened to sell them. In times of political unrest, our children, especially our girls, are easy targets for male aggressors.

In the United States, over a hundred children go missing every day, abducted by a stranger or slight acquaintance (Child Find of America). These children are either held for ransom, killed, or kept permanently.

This Mother’s Day I honor all mothers who grieve for a missing child, not knowing whether they are dead or alive.

Blessed are those mothers whose sons and daughters have not yet been touched by the evil impulses of our human nature.