The Burden of the Child
Dear Reader,
As a person whose research focused specifically on global childrens rights issues, what I can tell you is this:
Children being shot in schools is a symptom of larger failed policies, not the failure of a five year old to barricade the doors.
Children going hungry is a symptom of larger failed policies, not the failure of an infant to acquire food or the failure of a breastfeeding mother or the failure of a low-income parent.
Children enduring any of the numbers of violations of the full spectrum of human rights entitled to all living beings is a symptom of larger failed policies, not the failure of the child.
Children’s issues are human rights issues. The weight they are given in consideration to rights and protections should not be measured in relationship to their age. It is not a spectrum, but a full humans rights issue.
Those of us who have the right to vote, bare the weight of holding our leadership accountable for funding, researching, and applying policies that protect our most vulnerable from senseless violence, hunger, and abuses.
The breakdown of community, of decision-making bodies, of comprehensive health, of economic institutions, is most burdensome to our most vulnerable.
The condition of the child is not simply the outcome of unadulterated hate, lack of care, or apathy, but the living thermometer for the condition of a human population. It is the health and well-being of an entire community, manifested in those who bare the least responsibility for the conditions in which they exist.
The responsibility is multi-fold. It is individual. It is communal. It is institutional. The responsibility is the burden of every level of power.
And most importantly, it is obligatory.
Your Partner in Policy,
Taylor Schwartz
I know it’s another sad day, and there is much work to be done. What a burden and what an opportunity we have before us. A big announcement is coming to the podcast next week, so keep an eye out.
INCASE YOU MISSED IT:
A podcast about policies and travel in London just dropped - be sure to check it out! I talks about designing out crime, equity considerate cities, and decentralized power sources.
SOCIAL CIRCLE
Blog and Podcast:
https://policyoutloud.com
FB / IG / TWITTER / PINTEREST: @policyoutloud
See you soon! Thanks in advance for leaving positive ratings and reviews on the podcast channels and Facebook page if you love the content - it helps me grow because, well, algorithms…
Your Partner in Policy,