EVERYONE MATTERS

Once upon a time, in the land of Hush-A-Bye, around about the wondrous days of yore, they came across a kind of box, bound up with chains and locked with locks and labelled “Kindly do not touch; it’s war.”  Kendrew Lascelles (in John Denver’s album- Poems, Prayers and Promises)

I intended starting this post by stating that I wished to remain unbiased when it comes to one side or another when it comes to the alarming increase in armed conflict. It was important to me that anyone reading this would understand that while I have views on each of the current conflicts – Gaza, Ukraine, Iraq, etc. – that my opinions are not represented in this post. That would have been a lie. I am completely biased in favour of negotiated peace and downright prejudiced in favour of the cessation of violence that victimises children in the name of adult ideals and beliefs.

Nowhere in the dusty corners of my mind can I drag forward a viable reason for adults, who are responsible for the wellbeing of all children and not just our own, to commit acts of violence that endanger and cause suffering to innocent children.

So here’s my over-simplistic message to all of the adults involved in these disputes – STOP IT!  For the sake of humanity please lock up the box and bind it with chains and put it somewhere it can never be found again. None of your ideals, beliefs or grievances are worth the loss of even a single life, much less that of a child. Everyone matters.