Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
by Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail, April 16, 1963
It's often hard balancing being a mom with this ever pressing desire in my heart to combat injustice in the world. It really would be easier to do as some have suggested to me -- focus solely on raising my kids because that is what is important right now, especially while they are little. But I don't understand how the two can be separated. I don't understand how I can live in my little world, raise my kids, and isolate myself from the problems of the rest of the world. It just doesn't feel right to me. In fact, my conscience won't allow it. If I want to raise my children to be critically thinking adults who are not satisfied with the status quo, then I can't somehow sit idly by and focus on raising them to the neglect of being actively involved with other things that matter. The two are inevitably intertwined. Raising them involves teaching them about injustice and showing them positive ways to combat it, even if the ways seem small and insignificant. I want my children to know there is more to life than the latest game system or barbie doll, life isn't about things but about people, there are children just like them who are suffering and in need of our assistance, and for us to be silent about these things, to know about them and yet to do nothing, is indifference and perhaps even compliance.
I know it seems there is all too much to do and not enough time -- feed the kids, bathe them, dress them, educate them, keep the house in a decent order, run errands and spend the rest of the day doing more of the same, but I assure you if you make time to care for others in your community and in the rest of the world, you will not regret it, and your children will never forget it. Children have this immeasurable love and compassion for others. Their love is so pure that racism confuses them. They are quick to defend the ostracized. They don't think it's fair that people live on the streets, regardless of what they've done to get there. They don't think it's right that they should have food and water while other kids don't. And most importantly, they want to do something to help. In fact, their creative ideas may surprise you. If given the knowledge and the tools, our children are capable of the unimaginable. Just as you wonder how you can leave them alone in a room for five minutes, and they can have it turned upside down (mine have etched in pen on their natural wooden toys, cut every single one of their little ponies' hair and left the evidence all over the their room to prove it, and even flooded the bathroom on one occasion), you may also wonder how you can spark their imagination with a simple story and they can have ideas on how to help change the world. They are amazing little beings given to us, not just for us to pour into them, but for us to give them the opportunity to pour out to others. On this special day dedicated to commemorating and celebrating the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., let's do something to give them that chance. Feel free to share your ideas with us.
Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.
from Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail, April 16, 1963
