Just the other day, I was walking out of Kroger with my two year old and struggling to hold her and carry my groceries. I only had a few bags and just needed to rearrange. That’s when a man passed by, walked a few feet and then turned around and asked, “Do you need some help?” I responded, “Oh no! I can get it, thank you so much!”
Well that was nice. But, the fleeting thoughts of how nice that was quickly became, “What if he wasn’t being nice?”
I’m so sick of being scared. I’m sick of having to look around to make sure no one is following me to my car. I’m sick of worrying about someone trying to lure my child from me while running an errand. I’m tired of needing a security system to feel even the slightest bit more at ease AT MY HOUSE.
According to humantrafficking.org, 14,500-17,500 people (primarily women and children) are trafficked in the United States each year. That works out to be around 39-47 humans EACH DAY. Humans. Your sister, your daughter, your mom, your aunt, your best friend. These are all people. People with families and friends; they have people who love them.
I could list all the scary things happening in the world, but I know you already know.
I know that nice people still exist. I’m sure of it. But what I can’t get over are the people that have ruined, or currently ruining, it for all the nice people.
Whatever happened to the “Golden Rule?” Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
Ask yourself, “Would I want someone to do this to me?”
It is that easy.
But when will this end? All the killing, all the hatred, all the crazy?
It ends with us.
It ends with us teaching our children. Teaching our children right from wrong. Teaching our children to love one another. Teaching our children to respect every human being. Teaching our children to treat others the way they would want to be treated. Teaching our children (and ourselves) to ask for help, especially with mental health issues.
Some day your chubby-cheeked baby will be walking alone in the world. Do you want your independent princess fearing for her life as she leaves work? Do you want your kind hearted little boy to go missing? No. I hope you are yelling NO. Shaking your head furiously.
It starts right now. I challenge everyone to be a better person, parent, friend. To live in world where we are all coexisting with different races, different ethnicities, different religions and not fear for our lives or our children’s lives. To be able to pull into Kroger past dusk and not worry about your parking spot. To be able to lay in your bed at night and not fear that you left a door unlocked or didn’t set the alarm system. To be able to go to the park, zoo, store and enjoy your time with your littles rather than scoping out all the strangers and worrying if someone there is plotting something horrific.
I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of living in fear.
