By Jim Hmurovich, President & CEO, Prevent Child Abuse America
This is not a discussion about gun control or gun violence. That discussion is for another time and another place. No, instead what we want to discuss is making children a priority.
Sounds simple, right?
We know that many citizens, communities, business leaders, faith leaders, and policymakers make children a priority every day.
But some of us do not.
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We say children are our future and that the decisions we make should be influenced by that very idea. Yet, when it comes to making decisions, or not making decisions, children are not always the priority; in fact, children have been absent from many recent national discussions except when something horrible happens and our consciousness is awakened.
We see it all too frequently.
But not this week. This week the President of the United States did something that placed the well-being of children squarely in the middle of policy and decision-making; “the most powerful man in the world” made some hard decisions, and he made them because he believes children have to be our nation’s priority.
The political pundits will debate the merits of these decisions, but for now, let’s focus on the intent of the decisions and keep children front and center during the debate. He’s done his job; now it’s time for us to join the discussion and make sure children really are our priority.
What could be more simple that that?
As a wise man once said, “There is only one time when it is essential to awaken. That time is now.” We encourage everyone to awaken and to be this courageous when making decisions, big and small, and we encourage everyone making these decisions to ask themselves a simple question when they do, “Am I Making Children A Priority?”
Making children a priority is not to agree on everything, but it does represent a change in the culture around what we as a nation choose to prioritize. I invite everyone to join Prevent Child Abuse America in this dialogue by following us on social media, volunteering at our Chapters, and advocating for prevention programs such as home visiting that enhances the lives of children and their families. Let’s follow the President’s lead. What could be more simple than that?”