JPG: Stories: Photo Essay: The Faces Of Our Future

The Faces Of Our Future

By Donna Beeler

2 Jun 2008

These faces are our future. They are the children of today. They know nothing of their future or what will come their way. They know only love and happiness for those they hold so dear and look to them for guidance and help throughout the years. These children of today start out so innocent and pure, they are so trusting and believing of all that they do hear. Their laughter is so full of joy, the joy they feel each day and they do not have the fear, that will someday come their way.

We try to keep them sheltered from the violence of today. This violence is all around us, we see it everyday. Sometimes it seems so normal, since we see it all the time, but to the eyes of these young children they know nothing of the crime. They have yet to learn the meaning of vengeance and of hate, they know nothing of what war is or the death that it all makes. They have yet to learn the meaning of what is wrong and what is right and experience all those hardships that will come into their lives.

They hear it on the TV as they hear it in the street, the language of a hatred that is more than just skin deep. They listen to those people that seem not to see beyond, the color of ones skin tone or the nation of their home. They rely on us as parents to guide them through this stage, in hopes of understanding why these things are wrong this way.

We must teach these young children, the true meaning of their life. We must teach these young children, what is wrong and what is right. We must teach these young children to respect those that they'll know, no matter what their age is, because this should be so. They should try to be as helpful as they possibly can be, to help all those around them that are truly in their need. We must teach these young children to give as they may go and stand up for what they believe in as their small minds learn and grow. We must teach these young children to be honest and be kind and not to harbor grudges and hatred all the time. We must teach these young children that forgiveness is alright and to harbor hate and vengeance is really not a life.

So look at these young faces so innocent and pure, the faces of a future that we all hold so very dear. These faces are our children, the future of our life. They need to learn the hardships, and the sorrows and the strife. May these things give them the wisdom and the strength they surely need and not the vengeful hatred that they sometimes always see. May we teach them to be thankful, for all that they do have, no matter how abundant or modest that it is. Raising these young children is very hard indeed, but how we go about is the way we shall succeed. We must show them by example and teach them wrong from right, so they grow to be good people for the rest of their long life. So let's remember these young faces and teach them to do right, for the sake of all our futures and that of all our lives.