Are We Losing Our Children?

[Marvin Ellis]

We live in a generation with the most dangerous youth history has probably ever seen. The violence between our youth, the aggression towards adults by our youth and the blatant lack of concern by our youth for life in general is a serious issue.

We now live in a day and time where a nine year old child can be tried as an adult in a court of law because of an "adult" crime that he or she commits.

Are we nearing an ending period for this type of lifestyle that we live? Is a cleansing period coming and more importantly, will we lose our youth who are our future?

What do you think?

[Evelyn]

Yes, I think we are losing our children. I live in D.C. where we have had 169 homicides so far this year--many of those involving Black young men gunning each other down in the street. So, we must ask ourselves what kind of anger fuels a rage that ends in hunting down your peers like animals? What happened to the families of these young men? Why were they not given the proper guidance and direction? It is such a shame to see all of this violence and death among these children who hold so much promise.

I am the mother of three daughters. I consider it my duty to be there for them and to teach them the right way to go. More importantly, I try to live as an example and to conduct my life in such a way that they know that they will face trials in life, but you can rise above. My girls are fortunate to have a mother who is fully engaged in raising them to make good choices and to live successful lives.

I think that these young men who are out in the streets killing each other are doing it from sheer desperation. They had no firm foundation in their family so they turned to the streets to nurture them and now they have no hope.

I don't know what I can do about the plague of youth violence except to be the best mother that I can be to my girls. I can at least make sure that they don't go out there and contribute to the violence in this world. I can speak against it and support organizations who are working to stem the tide and dismantle the 'school to prison' pipeline that these young people seems to have caught an express ticket on. Finally, I can pray for them. I pray that God would intervene and help those who are doing the work of trying to save these young people from themselves and from the streets.

[Marvin Ellis]

Wonderful,
The Cultural Legacy Network might be for you then...

[Maxine King]

God bless you my sister, prayer is the key and the answer. Most of the problem is absentee parent's, either mother or father, because the mothers are just as bad these days. Most of them don't know how to be mothers because they became mothers to soon.They don't have the patience or time for children. Absentee fathers mainly because of mothers that are upset because she was hurt by this man and now she calls herself making him suffer by not letting him be in his childs life. She doesn't know that she's not hurting the father, but the child. Children don't remember money, but they do remembere time spent. Everybody is trying to do their own thing and nobody is watching what the children are doing. Nobody is teaching them how to live or to survive or how to trust in God for all things. We do have to keep our fading youth in prayer. It's their only chance for recovery. God Bless

[Maxine King]

We've alreay lost most of them, but when can get them back if we focus on a solution. The first solution is parental particapation in their childrens lives. Paying more attention to your child and who they are hanging out with and their activities is a start.

[Marvin Ellis]

this is true sister Maxine. I homeschool my children and am putting together a cultural, language educational center for children of members of my social, religious and fraternal organization. I always tell the students I deal with and their parents that we as adults need to stay in our children's minds. If you can't hold your child's attention longer than the television, you have a problem that will only get worse with time and age.

[Kenny]

Hi Marvin, It's valuable for a person to be contemplating these thoughts. Are we losing our children? I'd say it appears as though we are and at an alarming rate. I am just an average man and I respect everyone's right to whatever religious leanings they have but my choice comes from the roots of my family who taught me to love Jesus and they took time to show us what love was. We six kids felt then and still do today that we were blessed by being brought up in such love.

I think a huge amount of parents don't instill values like this. Instead, they ignore the very short window that parents have where they can impart redeeming values and awareness of God's love and sacrifice for all of us. Instead the kids shape their personalities on peer epiphanies which often are hardly that at all.

Either parents need to get a clue and get active in leading their children and introducing their children to God or they forfeit the right to expect anything other than disappointment when their child grows up thinking the zillion distractions in modern life; TV, music idols, glitter marketing are the essence of where they should focus their priorities. Once that takes hold, their potential is pretty well shot compared to those whose parents take the time to teach their children the value of God's love and relevance in our lives. When that becomes important to them, it lifts them up, gives them self confidence, which they can one day pass on to their own children. Win/win.

My wife passed away in 2000 after being paralyzed for 17 years but her Dad handed me a poem last Christmas and asked me to turn it into a song in my digital recording studio at home. I did and it came out great. We were so thrilled that we decided to turn the poem into a book and it's now published and it's a sweet book that parents can bond with their young child while teaching about Jesus' love and it features photography I've been blessed to take of God's masterpieces in nature. Any ways, it's all a new experience for Donald and for me and we're excited that it's starting to make a few positive waves out in the big world. We'll see if it blesses some little lives. Sure hope so. Our website is
www.itsabrandnewday.net

Keep up the good work and good thinking. We need people to contemplate where we're at, where we're heading because without that type of thinking there's no chance for leadership. Instead, complacency and spiral. Salute to you.

[Marvin Ellis]

Thank you for those hearfelt and pertinent words, brother Kenny. Situations like yours is why I wrote my first book in the first place, The Human Race Bible (amazon.com, borders.com, iuniverse.com). I also lost my mother in 2000 (which prompted me to finish my first book) and her influence on me and my sisters through the love of The Most High is the very basis on which I now raise my children. One of the most powerful lessons I've learned in life is that regardless of your faith, belief or principle of worship, all paths will ultimately lead back to a Higher Force, by whatever name you call it.

Teaching our children about this Higher principle is important because it strengthens the glue that holds the fabric of the family, the community, the tribe and ultimately the nation together. On a cultural note, in indigenous countries, where tribal lifestyle still dominates, the importance of various principles like respect, honor, sacrifice, sharing, spiritual responsibility, etc. are the only things keeping the tribe together.

The Human has a problem and it starts with selfishness. This selfishness translates into the worship of materialism. When Humans began worshipping material things, true concepts like respect, honor, tradition, spirituality, family and many other traits are put aside. When this happens, the fabric of society becomes damaged and fake values begin to dominate. When parents stop being parents and the government begins to step in and dictate to the parents what parenting is (when they don't have a real clue), this puts our future generations at risk.

I appreciate your comment and I will definitely check your website out.

Peace and blessings

[Kenny]

Good morning Marvin, Your comments are right on. You ARE making a difference. We are beginning a campaign where we will donate $10.00 per book/CD set sold to Feed The Children. They say that $10 will subsidize 286 meals. We are going to do our best with the budget we have and build it into something powerful but the need is far greater than food.

My cousin Patti-Lyn Arms has been going to Mozambique for a few years now, interviewing children and turning each one's story into a book and giving each child back their own story. It is increasing literacy rates from 5% to %75 on average. We will (God willing) be funding those efforts too.

Like they say, this life is not about me, it's about helping others. One of my songs-the Master of the Universe has words that say, "He's building His kingdom one heart at a time, there's so much more, He has in mind. You've got to help your brother to stand. That's how He'll know, reach out your hand."

Stand tall Marvin. We need more people like you. God bless you brother.
Kenny

[Marvin Ellis]

thank you and I would like to commend you on your hard work and efforts towards our future.

[slaine]

are we losing our children. powerful words brother. 27 youth between the ages of 13-25 in london alone was killed by violence means in 07. to date 8 more have been killed in london in 08. at this rate this number will be passed with in month. gun crime,knife crime is at a breck neck speed out here. more of our young people are in some kind of sercure unit, youth detension,mental unit, home prison, prison than in some form of further education. more of our children are in care homes and foster homes, or on the streets. the hidden homelesss.

[Kenny]

One thing that alarms me and I see evidence of it over and over again is how short the window is that parents have where they can actually influence their child's life. Marketing and peer pressures will close the door on that window more rapidly than almost any parent realizes. Once it's closed, the child's decision making process is far too often subject to the whims of marketing and movie and music idols who give off a non-redeeming image for children to imitate in order to feel cool or worthy of being accepted.

If the parent had taken the time during their "window of opportunity to make a difference in their child's sense of what is important in life" the child would value what he or she has learned about God as more important than what their often jealous peers try to push onto them as what's important.

So parents, I suggest you "get it" and get busy during your fleeting window of opportunity or you can take your place in the long line of parents who lament "what happened to my child?"

Parents) can either invest in their child now or forever know they chose to let their child's sense of self esteem be shaped by unpredictable elements rather than parental leadership and love.

[slaine]

so true