A series of essays....
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| THE AGE OF INNOCENCE, A CHARACTER STUDY BY THE ENGLISHMAN, JOSHUA REYNOLDS, WAS COMPLETED AROUND 1786 |
....as seen through my eyes!
By: Jacqueline E. Hughes
The Age of Innocence, as my generation perceived it growing up in the 1950’s, is rapidly changing! The simplicity of being a child, free to roam and discover the small world around them, is being exchanged for real fears that stifle the purity of their daily lives. I believe that The Age of Innocence is the struggle to reconcile the old with the new.... But, at what cost to all of the innocent children?
Can we any longer.....
Leave the doors to our house and automobile unlocked just because we live in a small town or community?
Knock on a stranger’s door to ask for directions or help and not expect to have someone accost us with a firearm?
Pack school lunches for our children without wondering if something bad could happen to them during the day at school; when they come home from school?
Watch our teenage daughter go out for a run with earbuds on, innocently listening to her favorite tunes, and not be concerned about her safety....even in broad daylight?
Not worry about our elementary school child walking home a block or two alone after being let off from the bus?
Be a child of African American decent and not require to learn specific rules and regulations in order to coexist among White children and adults?
Leave for our place of employment and not have to wonder if a disgruntled employee (current or past) will be stalking the premises with the intent to cause harm to those who work there?
I am old enough to know that many to all of the above examples could have and, most likely, did occur years ago, as well. The consistency by which they occur today is what concerns most of us.....especially regarding the mass school shootings that have taken so many young, innocent lives! They have robbed us of so much intelligence and potential towards making our world a better, more productive place to live and have inflicted incredible, lasting pain among the families and friends that survive after such an egregious event.
And, yes, having the broad spectrum of the media today reach out to us in so many different ways has a lot to do with allowing us to instantly feel the impact of such horrific acts of hatred and disregard for human life itself. What glory such a deranged mind seeks and is gifted with when they know that their ‘dirty’ deed reaches such notoriety so quickly and in real time. Lives touting such obscene ‘legends’ have become prolific in this time of instant media coverage.
Am I kidding myself here? Was there ever such a thing as living in jubilant innocence in the first place? Or, did we convince ourselves that living in a small town guaranteed that you knew all of your neighbors well enough and offered a comfort that stemmed from your parents and grandparents who lived there before you? Generations ago it was more likely that you remained in the same town that you grew-up in rather than fly-off into the great unknown following your dreams. We would be safer if we just stayed put. Or, so we believed.
With changing times, we have become travelers of the entire world and often decide to visit and live in places that our grandparents had never even heard of or read about. The earth has become a smaller place in this regard, however, our knowledge of different people, their culture and traditions, has grown immensely and we are learning how to comfortably commingle with all the people of the world.
Sadly, continuing to follow along our current path, the legacy we pass down to our children and grandchildren will be of students crouching down beneath their desks as they are drilled to react to a shooter within their school. Or, to fear the color of someone’s skin for they may want to cause you physical harm. Understanding that if you speak-up and say what you feel deep inside, you could be taken away and locked-up. And, to love freely the person of your choice could be against the law of the land.
Unfortunately, the legacy we pass down to the children would be their lack of freedom; the same freedoms we knew and cherished as a child growing-up in America! The innocence we luxuriated in and may have taken for granted, has disintegrated into the dust particles of fear, hatred, and isolation which has contributed to anxiety about future uncertainties or how we stack-up among the different levels of society as we know it.
Can we turn the tables? I will always believe that we can. Eliminating the source of such fear and hatred by those who exasperate us by promoting negativity and friction between various groups would be a huge start! If you are eighteen or older, making your vote count this November would be a giant step towards turning our topsy-turvy world in a slightly more upright position.
Ultimately, we need the United States government to be on our side again, we the people, and fighting for the ‘little person’ who happens to make-up the vast majority of this great nation; the people who work hard for a living and strive every day to make this country stronger and better from the bottom....up. Not the other way around! Our neighbors whom we trusted with our unlocked homes and vehicles are, once again, those we would do anything for as we assume they would do for us.
All children deserve the right to feel free of guilt through lack of knowledge of evil. He or she should be protected from cunning or deceit for as long as humanly possible. Childhood is living in a fairytale world without structure or worldliness and where the imagination can run rampant. Our children are entitled to enjoy this inherent freedom, this privilege of living, even for a little while, within a world that is charmed and innocent....
Every child deserves the right to have time to explore and time to waste. These are the little things that help to make this country the best it can be right now; the best it can be in the future!
Please exercise your right to vote on November 6! Allow the innocent children of America to enjoy the freedom and joy of living a childhood that enriches their imaginations instead of harboring their fears. I thank all of you in advance. Vote!
Copyright © 2018 by Jacqueline E. Hughes
All rights reserved
