Children: The Unheard Society

This essay exhibits concerns that I have about social policies regarding children in our society. While taking this course on social welfare, I was able to examine and relate to many of the topics covered. The course did open my eyes to my own feelings on how society regards people on welfare. In doing so, I realized the injustices that occur everyday in our policies towards such a large part of our society. Because of recent events related to September 11th, I believe the American public is becoming emotionally more sympathetic. Hopefully, we as a society can carry these sympathetic emotions into our policy-making processes. And that we as a society strive to correct what we have unjustly done. We cannot erase the past but we have an opportunity to change the future. I talk about reality checks in this paper. I would like the reader to think of my opinions as just that, opinions. But, we have to realize that opinions are how we start changes. And without opinions, individual thought is lost. We as a society have to encourage individual thought if we are going to evolve into a society that accepts everyone as they are. People can change, but is it fair to expect people to give up so much to be able to conform? A large part of our society involves children. We say that we are helping them; but are we helping them? Or are we just simply saying this so we can sleep better at night? I encourage you, when reading this paper, to open your eyes and realize that what is discussed is about reality. And that there is nothing more true than reality. Think about how compassionate and forgiving our children are. We have often little control over our own lives. We do not know what is in store for us in our future. As a society entering a new century and millennium, we are finding that the voices so important to our future are not being heard. In fact, the voices we do not pay attention to are those of future leaders and proprietors of our society and world. What does the future hold for our sons and daughters? Who is going to make sure that they have the opportunities that we have? Are these children going to be able to function as adults if we do not help them in growing up? These are a few questions that I am striving to find answers to. The future is an unpredictable web, which is woven through the daily activities in which we participate in everyday life. Our actions, as difficult to fathom, change the future moment to moment as we live it. Adults are always trying to find answers to questions presented by other adults. But, I believe the questions we should be listening to are those of children--children that have been born into our society without any choice of their own. These children have not yet had a chance to make their own lives--let alone the chance to live. Their voices are often ignored and the questions they ask often go unanswered. Who are we to decide whether or not these children can make decisions or ask questions? As adults we do not have sole control over our own lives. We do not know what is in store for us in our future. But, I can assure that the children of our society have less control than we as adults have. As adults we make choices, often out of ignorance and irrational decisions. The adults in our society often do not ask questions about their distant future, but rather they try to solve problems with limited resources for the quick fix. This is fine if all you have to do is worry about yourself. But, throw a child into the equation and our thought process has to change. Children do not always know what is right. So, they do not question actions that adults take. Children can only ask about what they know. Where are we going to sleep? Can I have some food? Can I have some clothes to stay warm? These questions seem trivial. But, for many youngsters in our society these are the questions that matter. These questions are not always asked, since they have been ignored all too often. …