The disciples didn’t always “get it right.” In other words, they were just as human as we are. When they tried to shoo away some children who wanted to be near Jesus, He admonished them sharply. St. Luke tells us that Jesus said, “Suffer the little children unto me…for it is to such that the Kingdom of God belongs.”
So we are all on the same page, Jesus most definitely did not say that little children (or bigger children for that matter) should suffer. He meant that the innocence and purity and love so inherent in young children is the example for those of us trying to follow in His footsteps.
So how are we all doing in that journey? The new census shows more than 1 in 5 children living in poverty. That is an increase of nearly 3 million children in 3 years. So often, we hear this data and it doesn’t really penetrate our worldly lives or intellectual thought processes. The poverty level, as currently calculated, is $22,000 for a family of four. Has anyone ever tried living on $22,000 a year, even as one person? How we define the poverty rate is a whole different issue and for another time, but the fact is, it is an extremely low indicator for truly calculating people living in poverty.
Permit me just a couple more statistics. One in 10 children now live in extreme poverty, otherwise known as 50% below the poverty level, or in households with annual income less than $11,056. Children represent 24.4 percent of the total U.S. population, but 35.5 percent of all people living in poverty and 36 percent of all people living in deep poverty.
I don’t often quote Stephen Colbert (although I am a fan), but I’m really struck by this statement of his: “If this is going to be a Christian nation that doesn't help the poor, either we have to pretend that Jesus was just as selfish as we are, or we've got to acknowledge that He commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy without condition and then admit that we just don't want to do it.”
I’ve been a children’s advocate for more than 20 years. My sense of outrage is as fresh – and probably greater – as when I started. How do we allow this to go on in the United States? How do we find trillions of dollars to fund two overseas wars, yet can’t seem to find enough money to lift our children out of poverty? To give them quality child care and preschool and nutritious food? How can we give tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires (and so many of them have said they don’t even want them!) and ignore poor children? Why is this such a constant uphill battle politically? Yes, we absolutely need to focus on jobs and the economy. But if we really do believe Jesus’ message about the poor and children, what are we doing about it?
I can tell you that there are no high-paid lobbyists walking the halls of Congress for children. There are many, many dedicated ones who work tirelessly on behalf of children. But children don’t vote. They don’t lobby. And they sure don’t contribute to congressional campaigns. Pretty tough to do on $22,000 a year.
When I worked in the U.S. Senate, I was fortunate to work for Senator Bob Casey, a man who truly cares about the well being of children, particularly those most disadvantaged and at risk. Senator Casey has introduced multiple bills to help poor children. He has had the support of virtually all children’s groups around the country and a few members of Congress. Not enough though.
Try to bring these statistics to life and genuinely imagine what it would be like to be one of the every five children in a family with $22,000 a year. Or the one in every ten children in a family with an income of $11,065. These kids don’t eat nutritious breakfasts at home, and they are lucky to get food at school, if their school district has not yet been forced to cut back. They live in neighborhoods we don’t drive through. They go to bed hungry. They are tired and hungry in school. They have a hard time concentrating.
These children are suffering. Every single day and night.
Recent statistics show an increase in child abuse as the recession continues. Poor children don’t live alone, most live in families stressed to the breaking point. For those of us who are parents or uncles or aunts, I am guessing we cannot imagine our children living that kind of life. Any person of faith has to be shocked by these statistics. And all of this – all of this – determines the kind of adulthood these children will have, and it will not be good.
So when will we “get it right”? Troy Davis’ death triggered a coordinated outrage against an inhumane policy, and rightfully so. Can’t we give our children this same gift of organized outrage? It’s not happening in Congress, albeit with highly committed members, there are simply not enough. Somehow, the visibility of children has to rise – in Congress, in our Church, in this country. This is a fight that all of us who believe Jesus’ words about children should be fighting. Is it true, as Colbert said, that we simply just don’t want to do it? I don’t believe that. But I know how easy it is for poor children in this country to slip out of our sights and our minds. It is time for people of all faiths to come together on behalf of children. Let us suffer the little children unto ourselves. They need us. And they can show us the way.
