Foolish Cat April 4th, 2008

Yesterday the CDC came out with a report that 1 in 50 infants is a victim of maltreatment, and a third of those cases occur in children less than a week old. The report was very clear that this report was not about new parents learning the ropes, it was about intentional abuse or neglect to children less than a year old.

1 in 50. Maybe that number doesn’t sound high to some people, or maybe it sounds about right, I don’t know. To me, it sounds incredibly depressing. Obviously it’s depressing because of the fact that the most vulnerable creatures on earth are not getting their most basic needs met, but it’s also because I’m reading this report today on the fortieth anniversary of Dr. King’s assassination.

In terms of civil rights, I know this country has come a long way since 1968, and this November might prove to be the crowning achievement if Barack Obama is elected president. But how far have we come as people if we can’t give our infants the love and compassion they need? Actually, forget love and compassion - the food and shelter and supervision they need!

1 out of 50 isn’t a lot, you say? Well what’s acceptable? What if 1 out of every 50 times you drove your car, the brakes didn’t work right? What if every 50th cup of coffee you drank had poison in it? You didn’t die, but you got sick and had to go to the hospital. Every time you drank that 50th cup it made you a little sicker, a little weaker, and a little less thrilled about your life. There is no acceptable number. And unlike you who could just quit drinking coffee, children, infants especially, have no choices.

Maybe I’m overreacting, but it sickens me that this country can find the resources to do anything it sets its mind to, while putting so little value in our kids. And I’m not talking about the government. I mean every parent or caregiver whose responsibility it is to keep a child secure and make him strong for the future. Their future is your future. Next time we complain that kids these days don’t respect their elders, maybe we should ask ourselves “Why?”

Sorry, it pisses me off. Blunder on.

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