What Do We Tell Our Children?
There is a girl named Malala that stares down upon the city of Temple. She is on a billboard that everyone driving from the east can see along the loop near the mall and the hospital. Every child that has taken a 6th-grade reading class in Academy Middle School recognizes this girl. She is the youngest person to have ever won a Nobel Peace Prize. She wrote a book about being shot in the head by the Taliban because she believed women should read. This billboard has been up for a long time. The billboard reads, “Girls should learn history. And make it.”
After watching the disturbing videos from Afghanistan, I wonder what do we say to our children? What do we say to our war veterans? Unfortunately, our leaders and pundits say many things and blame many people. Indeed the saying of “Success has many fathers, and failure is an orphan,” comes to mind when we watch them point fingers at each other. To the veterans, thank you for your service. It was not in vain. But, to our girls and boys, how do we explain? Learn the history, and try not to repeat it.
Strength, Power, and Courage
I don’t know much more about Malala Yousafzai except for excerpts from her book, her website, and Biography.com. She spoke about being shot. She said that the Taliban thought they could silence us, but they failed. Out of the silence came thousands of voices. The Taliban thought they could change her aims and ambitions. Instead, weakness, fear, and hopelessness died. Strength, power, and courage were born to take their place.
So, what do we tell American children? We went to war in Afghanistan to fight the Taliban and Al Queda. These people were like the people who shot her when she was on a school bus in Pakistan. So, how do you tell a child that we went to war against people that don’t want women to read, but now it is okay? The best thing I can think of to tell children is what is on that billboard. “Girls should learn history. And make it.” The same is true for boys.
The battle belongs to the Lord
I don’t incline to try to explain to a child that America may have lost her lampstand. (a reference to an April blog that mentions children.) In the April blog, I wrote, “We see the irony of children invading a nation that has aborted untold millions. We look for political solutions, but we need help from above.” So, rightly or wrongly, American political leaders have lost the will to fight for Afghanistan. And, the women and children in Afghanistan need help from above also. I pray that, like Malala, that their weakness, fear, and hopelessness will die as strength, power, and courage is born. The battle belongs to the Lord.