Lady in Pink

To me, it’s really obvious that children are crucial parts of our society (and all societies) and that since they can’t defend themselves or vote in favor of their interests, someone needs to do that for them.  This isn’t a new or revolutionary thought on my part in any way.  I started thinking about this today because I was looking into Stand for Children, a grassroots non-profit that has had success acting in the interest of children (particularly for education) in Massachusetts, Tennessee, and Oregon.  They’re jump starting a branch in Washington state, which is where I found them (idealist.org).  There are organizations like this of varying sizes, and one of the most prominent national groups is the Children’s Defense Fund, which has a really wonderful website and a massive amount of information available.  If you’re interested at all I’d really recommend it. 

Today I spent a while reading through the CDF Action Counsel’s ‘Congressional Scorecard’ for 2007, which is linked below.  As much as I had an idea of some of the idiotic decisions that are made, this scorecard really put things into basic terms to explain what was being presented in various bills, propositions, votes, etc. and how these issues affect children (they aren’t always directly labeled as children’s issues, but general things such as raising the minimum wage, for example, has obvious and drastic impacts on the quality of life for children and youth).  It also gives a "grade" for each state and representative (and each presidential candidate) and a breakdown of how each individual voted.

If I wasn’t sure of how I felt on the candidates before now, this definitely helped things along: Clinton-70% (the percentage is basically how much the individual voted in favor of children, according to the views of CDF); Obama-60%; McCain-10% (nice!).

Beyond these ’scores’, the stats for the votes on the individual issues were sometimes really shocking/disturbing:

The Senate and the House voted to extend health coverage to over 3 million uninsured children through SCHIP…awesome! BUT, the funds for this would have to come from an approximately 60¢ increase in the federal tax on cigarettes…yeah…Bush vetoed it.

Other issues don’t even get the chance to be vetoed…for the vote to Increase Funding for Education for Children with Disabilities, not one Republican voted in support of the issue in the Senate (and it was rejected overall 35-58 with 36 Dems and two Independents in favor).  Why? That’s not really stated in the document, but the funds for this increase would have come from taxing the richest Americans…hmm…

Ok, I get it. You ‘made’ your money and saved it and whatever…but these are children.  Children with disabilities no less.  Granted, I’m not the most politically-informed in all issues and I don’t really understand every consideration that goes into making these decisions.  I’m sure there are other specific things that you’ve got to keep in mind when voting.  But, how can you consistently (90% of the time, in McCain’s case) reject votes that benefit children? 

In many cases, rejecting these votes is extremely detrimental to the status of citizens in general, not just children.  But children don’t have a voice, they don’t have a way to stand up and say what they want and need.  Parents, teachers, any kind of authority figures are quick to say that children don’t know what’s best for them, that adults know better and are looking out for their best interests…are these the same adults that are voting for politicians that don’t want to raise minimum wage or vote for amendments that protect children from unsafe medications?  It’s a damn good thing that organizations like Stand for Children and the Children’s Defense Fund have people willing to work overtime for not enough pay, for no recognition, completely for the children. 

This is all very clearly tied to national issues and problems, and these votes that take place on the local, state and national levels reflect the definitions of democracy and community that are supported in America.  For me, the argument is not so ‘patriotic’ or tied just to the country…children are children everywhere.  Children have absolutely no part in the prejudices, grudges and battles of political leaders around the world.  Even more than  civilian casualties of war, youth casualties of global ignorance and apathy are truly tragedies of the innocent. The DREAM Act (which would support education for the children of immigrants and allow them citizenship if they completed high school and attend college or join the military) wasn’t even allowed to go to a vote.  When immigrant issues, tensions and fears keep children from any amount of education, I just think this is completely ridiculous.

In my mind, the politics are secondary…these are children.  If a community can’t keep its children safe, protected and valued as one of the most (if not simply the most) important parts of its growth and persistence, what does that say about the rest of the values of the society? 

CDF Action Counsel: 2007 Congressional Scorecard