Editor, Commonwealth:
Are children born with a clean slate and the abilities to become anything they desire, or are there occurrences that can dictate their outcome?
I recently read a book entitled “Convicted in the Womb” by Carl Upchurch. It was his painful story of how circumstances before he was born set him on a course straight to the penitentiary.
He tells what it was like to grow up in a family where there were no elements of functionality. In his neighborhood, there was no real sense of neighbor, just the negativity of the ’hood. During his childhood, he did not get the opportunity to grow spiritually. There were too many traditions and church norms. His teachers and the schools he attended were not set up to deal with his everyday life issues.
Charles Brady
So I ask the question again, Who’s at fault when we fail to reach those in our grasp?
There are countless numbers of Carl Upchurches walking around in our communities all over this country. We notice them all times of the night and day. We often fail to see them because we don’t connect ourselves to their plight. Now, should they make the news for doing some over-the-top, unbridled act, we would look their way for a minute or two, but we still fail to see them. Are all these children victims of their environment, or are there DNA reasons to explain all of their decisions? Of course not!
To break this pattern, we must view the situation with more than our eyes; we must see them with our heart. Should we see them with our heart, we can emotionally connect to the predicament they are experiencing without looking for fault.
It is not the children who are failing to meet the needs of the adults. It is the adults who are not recognizing that we are all God’s children and we have been given charge of each other. It is time to wake up and do things accordingly, and see those who desperately need our help.
Charles Brady
Greenville
