The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them.
-- Isaiah 11:6

So far, the 21st-century has been a major disappointment. No teleportation, no space odyssey, and no Star Child. Of course, there are still two weeks left in 2001, so who knows?

Ramadan is almost over. A month of daily fasting and spiritual contemplation should have a positive effect on Muslims around the world. Hanukah is upon us -- a minor Jewish holiday, but one that allows for reflection on the victory of the few over the many, the struggle for religious freedom, miracles, and what it means today to be men as strong as hammers.

Kwanzaa will begin at the end of the month, with its focus on unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity and faith -- good things for all of us to think about, not just African-Americans. Maybe the spirit of Christmas, the season of love and light, of peace and joy, will have a miraculous effect on the Christians among us. And a little child shall lead them. Perhaps something will click when the message of the season -- peace on Earth, good will toward men -- and our current actions in the world coincide, unless we are too busy helping the economy to notice.

As someone who was raised a Christian, I've been frustrated by that seasonal promise which has never come true. There's still a part of me that hopes for the best, but I'm ready to have lower expectations for now. I'd be happy with just good will toward children for the time being. Think it's possible to start there? Two million children have been killed in the past decade as a result of armed conflicts around the world. Four to five million have been disabled. Twelve million have been left homeless. More than a million have been orphaned or separated from their families. Some ten million have been psychologically traumatized.

Based on some time spent in elementary schools lately, and I'd venture to say that many American children have been psychologically traumatized by the events of September 11, and it's been taking a toll on an already burdened educational system. Imagine adding 20 years of conflict-related trauma, hunger, illness, and cold to this equation, and you've got an idea of what parents and teachers in Afghanistan are facing. Reports show that 90 percent of the children there are worried about their future, and 75 percent live in constant fear and don't expect to live to adulthood.

Eighty percent of surveyed Afghan children admitted to feeling so sad at times that they could hardly cope with life. Others cited having difficulty feeling either sadness or happiness. Puts some perspective on the differences between what kids need and what they want, doesn't it? When my own daughters were children, and I was a social worker for the state Department of Children, Youth, and Families, I experienced that same perspective, and I wanted them to know it as well. I'd like to think I didn't cram it down their throats, but I did take them with me when I delivered donated holiday presents to the children in my caseload after work hours. Whether it was to a foster home or a group home, they picked up on that need/want difference, I think.

As a college student, my main man was Abraham Maslow. He was the humanistic psychologist who developed a hierarchical theory of human needs, and he introduced psychology to truth, goodness, beauty, unity, justice, order, simplicity, uniqueness, and transcendence. His hierarchic theory of needs is often depicted as a pyramid, with the larger, more basic needs at the bottom and the upper point representing the need for self-actualization. Achieving each level of the pyramid is dependent on satisfying the needs of the previous level. He called those who reached the uppermost level "the growing tip," and estimated that it probably included five percent of the population. I've always felt that saving humanity meant getting as many of us as possible to the tip.

Down at the bottom of the pyramid are basic biological and physiological needs like air, food, and water. Next comes security and safety needs; social needs like love, affection, and belongingness; and then ego needs like self-respect and the respect of others. When all those needs are met, you can work on being self-actualized, which is the ongoing process of putting all those met needs to work for something outside one's own skin.

Among the cancellations and postponements caused by the events of September 11 was the United Nations Special Session on Children scheduled for September 19-21. The corresponding children's forum, set for September 16-18 in New York, was also postponed. The events, when they are rescheduled, will provide an update of the status of the rights of children throughout the world to live in peace, health and dignity -- a follow-up to the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child. The document created at the convention has been ratified by 184 countries. There's only one government in the world that hasn't ratified it. That would be the United States of America.

I've often heard that this time of year is for children. Many of us in this country have enjoyed the luxury of having an extended childhood -- of having the time and resources to take our time moving through the stages of development to fully functioning adulthood. Sometimes we've gotten stuck along the way, wallowing in our individual needs. Sometimes, like on September 11, we're thrown back to previous stages, with both positive and negative effects.

But I have confidence that enough of us are reaching for the upper levels of meaning in life that we can look beyond our own desires to see those of others. If this is truly the time of year for children and for giving, it would be a worthy goal to advocate on behalf of the rights of children everywhere. Organizations like UNICEF (www.unicef.org), the Global Movement for Children (www.gmfc.org), Childreach (www.childreach.org), Save The Children (www.savethechildren.org), the Children's Defense Fund (www.childrensdefense.org), and others are easy to contact and can share a number of ways in which you can help.

It would be a shame if the little child who could lead us to a better way of being never made it to adulthood.

Issue Date: December 13 - 19, 2001