It been said when we were young, this was a better place. But that is not true, and I fear that it will never be safe. In the forties, kids watched the skies for the enemy in bomber planes. The fifties had us crouched under desks, for when the "big bomb" came. War shown on TV each night in the sixties, till the pictures became blasé. The seventies continued with riots and escalating violence each day. The eighties saw hatred, but ended with hope, when the "wall" came down. In the nineties back to despair, shootings and small wars did abound. Look at the face of children, so pure, wonder what the future will hold. Afraid they won't live to grow up, have kids or the chance to grow old. Why fight, why is there hatred, fear and distrust, why not live in peace? Questions that have plagued man since he went out to kill his first beast. Who are we to force our opinions on any living woman or man? What makes us any better than others? Answer that if you can. We have to stop the madness before it consumes all that we hold dear! What good is obtaining what someone else has, if we have to live in fear? Before we let anger take over our lives, just look into each child's face, For THERE is the future of all mankind, the hope for the human race. Don't teach them hatred or show them death, educate them on life. Let tolerance be the legacy we leave, not misery, hatred and strife. Then when you tuck your child in bed and say you'll see him the next day, You'll know in your heart it's true, because man's love made it that way. In wars it is the innocent who suffer the most, the children! They are killed, maimed, orphaned and left homeless to fend for themselves on the streets. Eating garbage, if they eat at all. Who looks after the children? Whose responsibility is it? It belongs to all of us. We have to protect the children as they cannot defend themselves from our destructive behavior. Children are not born with hate in their hearts, it is a learned behavior. They have to be taught. They are taught how to hate by their parents. So why do we do it? Why do we teach them how to hate? It would be so much easier to live in peace. It has reached the point now, where we are having to undo the lessons that we taught the children of the world. It is a difficult task to unlearn something, but it must be done, and as quickly as possible, in order to save the world. Everyone who fights in a war is someone's child. Why should we, as mothers, give birth just to have them killed in a senseless war? My heart is breaking, crying, For all the people fighting, dying. So many dreams laid to rest, Being impotent, what truth can I invest, What meritorious act can I achieve? Maybe I am too naive. There is nothing I can do alone While vultures pick clean the bone Of what used to be my family. Are we suffering from some malady That hides the fact we are related, And as such should not be hated? What are the reasons that we fight, Do they prove who is right? No, only who is stronger! We cannot do this any longer. It is time for all wars to cease. Why can't we just live in peace? How many mothers have to cry For all the children who must die? An end to fighting is what I pray At the beginning and end of each day. Won't you put an end to this torment? Please listen, heed a mother's lament. Jan Haile Clark

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