ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, June 2, 1996 TAG: 9606030080
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
MANY VIRGINIANS were among the crowds attending Saturday's inspiring "Stand for Children" rally in Washington. There was no shortage of people there.
There was no shortage of statistics, cited in speeches and flyers, to underscore the worsening condition of children in America.
Marian Wright Edelman, president of the Children's Defense Fund and organizer of the rally, specializes in dismal statistics organized into snapshots and soundbites.
You know: Every day in the United States 2,660 infants are born into poverty, 2,833 teen-agers drop out of school, 8,493 kids are reported abused or neglected, 6,042 juveniles are arrested, and so forth.
Since 1979, Edelman reports, "more than 50,000 children have been killed by gunfire in our homes, schools and neighborhoods. Although we are the world's leading military power, we stand by, silent and indifferent. We cut after-school programs that give kids positive alternatives to the streets."
There was no shortage Saturday of calls to action - and not just government action.
Sure, there was a lot of talk about Washington's seeming intent to balance the budget on the backs of the most vulnerable.
But there was no shortage of calls, either, for parents to take more responsibility in caring for their kids. And not just single mothers living in ghettoes, but affluent parents - some of whom are too preoccupied to provide faithfully enough the kind of family rituals, loving continuity and consistent companionship that kids need to grow up healthy, caring and productive.
There were calls for neighbors to look out for each other and for the neighborhood kids.
There were calls for businesspeople not to target young people with so many violent themes and sexually charged marketing messages, which they would not want their own children to see.
Among the throngs at the Lincoln Memorial, there was no shortage of commitment or fervor in advocacy for children, no shortage of recognition that America, as affluent as it is, is giving far too many kids a bum deal and a bad start on life.
Where the shortage lies is in the nation's will to do something about it.
LENGTH: Short : 46 linesby CNB