A NATIONAL SHAME: CHILD ABDUCTION and ABUSE

OH, NO! It happened again! OH, NO! It happened again! Like a bad Pink Floyd song, the national headlines just keep repeating themselves: CHILD ABDUCTED, CHILD SEXUALLY ASSAULTED, CHILD KILLED BY ABUSE. Have we become so inured that these declarations no longer bother us? Sometimes, I really wonder about our national conscience!
When you read about car thieves getting life sentences, and then you ponder WHAT LITTLE IS BEING DONE on a daily basis to deter children from being victimized, it highlights just how sk*ewed up our country is. When we value steel over flesh and blood, it is time for us to take a collective 'let's do SOMETHING about this' attitude and try to SAVE OUR KIDS!
As horrible as it is to ponder, I'm sure you don't have to dig too deep to find a child victimization story that has affected your life. I personally had something hit home when my own children were younger. Living in the relative rural safety of Iroquois county in Illinois, you can imagine the fears generated by the local headlines screaming that a young boy from Aroma Park, (which was 8 miles from our hometown!) had been abducted from the banks of the Kankakee river while fishing, sexually assaulted, brutally slain and then dumped in a local preserve like so much garbage. Chills ran through me! So long, sense of security! So long, peace of mind! As a parent you learn through these tragedies to be ever vigilant, to NEVER let your guard down!
And to be thankful that you have never had to walk in THOSE SHOES! I can't fathom how parents continue to function after losing a child so horrifically! They are in my thoughts and prayers every day when I pray for the safety of my own children. And yet, the stories just keep coming!
But this ONE time, the Big G decided to smile on our pathetic state and give us a Christmas miracle! An abducted child was returned home for the holidays. Unfortunately, that is too often a fluke and not the norm. And the body count continues to rise as our nation turns a blind eye!
So today, I am asking all friends of this blog, moms and dads, OR anyone who thinks that our children should be a NATIONAL PRIORITY, to take time in this New Year, after the celebrations and good cheer, to make doing SOMETHING, ANYTHING, about this national tragedy ONE OF YOUR NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS.
Whether you become a block parent, volunteer for crossing guard duty, post pedophiles' profiles to inform your community, etc., please make it YOUR priority in the New Year to SAVE OUR KIDS!
Thank you and may the Big G keep all our kids safe!

P.S. In relation to my quest to win AGT this season, please see the comment box below this blog. There you will see posted the lyrics to a song I was compelled to write one day after I had driven past the Aroma Park city limit sign. After Christopher's tragic taking, I could never again drive past that sign without thinking of and saying a prayer for him.