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April 15, 2013 is now yet another day marking America’s violent history. So what did I tell my kids?
What did I tell my sensitive five year old son who turns away from the television if he sees a violent scene during a commercial? What did I tell my three year old who cried recently while watching a cartoon depiction of the story of the prodigal son? What did I tell the future of our country about yet another attack on our home soil?
I didn’t tell them anything.
They’ll see it eventually
My children and your children will see violence. They will hear bad words. They will hear lies and they will see pain. None of these things can be avoided as we go into the world but I’m not going to invite any of them into my home. That’s why I didn’t tell them anything. It would only brought them fear and they don’t need anymore reasons to fear.
We live in a violent country and my children will find out about that soon. They’ll learn that when people do bad things we kill them with lethal injections. They’ll learn that it’s legal to end the life of a perfect baby as long as it’s in the womb and under a certain level of development. They’ll learn that bad people with guns kill people, sometimes children. They’ll learn that sometimes daddies hit mommies. They’ll learn that some of the most popular shows on television are shows about murder and rape. They’ll learn that in America we entertain ourselves with horrific violence.
Prepare, don’t participate
They’ll learn all of this on their own and far too soon but I won’t be the one to teach them most of it. They’ll learn it because it can’t be avoided forever. We can choose not to participate in much of it but it can’t be avoided entirely.
I didn’t tell my kids about Boston. Their generation will have their own tragedies. They don’t need to experience ours too.
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