The Eternal Cynic

I was driving around today and passed a little girl in complete tears as she walked home from school. This made me very angry. Not at the little girl who was crying and not even because a child was in tears. The real source of my anger runs much much deeper and is a result of other individuals who have forced a change in our world that is bitterly unfair.

I would have loved to stop my car and offer this little girl a ride home, a shoulder to cry on or even just see what I could do to help make her feel a little bit better and brighten her day. But as painful as it was to watch this innocent little soul make her way home without intervening, I couldn’t. We as a society have taught our kids to avoid strangers at all costs in order to protect them. My stopping and the potential response from this child would undermine so many things built around keeping her safe from harm. Granted, I would have been a helping hand but if this child saw one nice stranger, she might think the next one is equally nice when in actuality they are exactly the type of person her mother warned her about. So, I drove on, angry at all of the individuals out there that have forced us to teach our kids to be a little bit paranoid and ever cautious and to never ever talk to strangers, even the nice ones.

There are many deep dark behaviors in this world that I can easily wrap my head around the whys, even if I don’t agree with them. Hurting children does not fit in that category. I just cannot grasp how people can hurt a child. How do you look into a child’s eyes and then proceed to do them harm? Children, even the most challenging ones are as pure and innocent as it gets. It disgusts me to know people do this, and on a very grand scale. The numbers have reached epidemic heights. I have heard and done all of the research on family history, genetics and all of those things but in the end EVERY person has a choice. We all make difficult choices each and every day, often going against our own biology, notions etc.

Relying solely on good decisions will of course always fail as people inherently choose the most ridiculous path available and frankly are incredibly selfish. Sure there are laws, but NONE of them work. The statistics for re-offending are astronomical. Why as a society are we not demanding more strict laws? We have all changed our own lives to protect ourselves from these predators and yet we have not enacted laws to really scare these criminals into change. If the punishment is severe, some of these dirt bags may reconsider their life path in order to preserve themselves. I believe this applies to most crimes, not just those that involve children. I just believe the most “special” punishments should be reserved for pedophiles and abusers. Unfortunately with our current system, justice is very rarely served.

The true prisoners are not the ones behind bars, but the rest of us. We are the ones suffering from cruel and unusual punishment. We cannot do anything without looking over our shoulder, checking to make sure we are safe. We have been forced to instill a certain sense of fear in kids to protect them from the harsh reality. They can’t learn to socialize and show respect in a world where strangers, even the good ones who wish them no ill will, are the enemy. It is no wonder our children are anti-social, disrespectful, and even overweight. They don’t have the freedoms they deserve as children. They can’t play in their own yards without extreme supervision or much of anything else for that matter. Now I am not saying these creeps are responsible for ALL of it, there are parental issues adding to the problem as well, but that is a rant for another day. Today’s wrath is reserved especially for those who do children harm.

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