What in the World is Going On Here?

How is it possible that in today's world, we are still killing our children? By that, I don't necessarily mean abortion. Instead of aborting a fetus, parents are waiting years to rid themselves of the burden. The innocent babe is birthed and raised, growing older and more aware of its world. Then, slowly, almost imperceptibly, these precious gems are slowly crushed under the weight of the anger/fear/shame that the parents refuse to let go of. In war, we kill off part of our future when our children die. We simply cannot continue to do this. And we can no longer stand by as it occurs. We need to act.

Just this week, in LA, a man killed his 5 children, his wife and himself. The couple was in desperate financial and legal trouble. For whatever reasons, they felt the only alternative was to kill their offspring and escape their responsiblities. They had a choice, their children did not. In rural Missouri, a man raped his daughter for 5 years, impregnating her four times. Two of those children were found in coolers, another was suspected of being buried in another state, and one child is in state custody. The father had a choice. His daughters (and grandchildren) did not. What in the world is going on here?

Counter to those horrific, meaningless tragedies, a young woman, also from the LA area gave birth to only the second set of live-birth octuplets in recorded history. Turns out that she already has 6 children, lives with her parents, and we don't know a) where the father is, b) who is paying for her babies' stay in the NICU, and c) who gave her the fertility drugs in the first place? What does this tell us about our society? Does it indicate our level of collective guilt over child murder/endangerment so we let certain women give birth to a "shoe-ful" of children, then we as a society need to support them in ways over and above what we might consider reasonable? Where does the responsibility of the young woman, the father, their parents, and her doctor come into play? What in the world is going on here?

Why are we so screwed up when it comes to raising our children? Why do some children turn out "well" and other ones grow into evil, selfish, messed-up human beings? When does the cycle end? What might we need to do to be better parents to our kids? What peace do we need to make with our ghosts so that we will lead our lives with integrity? What ways can we help another and pass on the wisdom we have gained?

Now don't get me started on how we treat our elders.