THE LION'S DEN

Welcome to The Lions Den! Facts and figures are one thing. My opinion is something entirely different. I'll get right to the heart of things on my mind and since this is my first "Den" commentary-I'll stick to the issues regarding education on abuse. As you have read in my previous statistics there are 60 MILLION survivors of sexual and physical abuse in the United States since 1993 From 1993-2003 my estimates based on past figures indicate that there will be minimally 30 MILLION more cases of child and sexual abuse over this ten year period while abuse figures average 3 MILLION + annually in the United States.

What is NOT reported is a nightmare At present there are 300,000 child soldiers under the age of 16 fighting in armed conflicts world-wide. Whats happening in our schools? 13 dead in the Columbine massacre-18 dead in a school in Germany-there are several shootings at schools throughout the United States and the devastating story of a 12 year old boy-taunted & bullied so much by his classmates to the point of walking into school with a gun-and committing suicide-in front of his classmates.

I once had not one-but two people remark to me-we dont care what happens.. over there... (regarding the school shootings outside the US-as long as its not here-) I could go on-and on and on. The stories speak for themselves. I wonder how these two feel now about the recent Russian slaughter of 360+ adults and children in a Russian school by terrorists who wounded 500 ? More than 160 that died were children and it was filmed by the terrorists who shot innocent children and adults in the back as they were running away. If its possible.... my spirit groans while I write this-but we must-stand strong and go on. We have seen the face ...of pure evil...in the gruesome slaughter of innocent children and adults under these circumstances.

We have seen the deplorable scenes and conditions on an international scale of children in Afghanistan & Iraq. Lets not forget the upheavals in Serbia-Croatia-Bosnia- Somalia-Spain- Africa-North & South Korea-Russia China & more. These global conflicts strike fear and terror into the hearts and minds of the children-communities and societies in which they live.

This is a moment where I will applaud our United States Armed Forces and Coalition Armed Forces for the fine job they are doing under difficult circumstances protecting our country and for the efforts made toward rebuilding schools and hospitals in those countries and seeing to it that children in a war torn country go BACK TO SCHOOL- while helping to restore governing persons and freedoms to vote! ( Albeit under very difficult circumstances).

Moving on-I remember a comment made at a human resources training conference for teacher interviews that I attended about a northern city in the US where on any given day-a student that walked to school-had to make his way through no less than 60 street gangs. What ARE we doing about this? I WONDER!.

In the United States our educational systems are under terrible stress from the economic catastrophe of war and terrorism. 911 has created havoc in our country and we must be dedicated to reversing our losses. It is a challenging & difficult time in our lives with no easy answers or solutions-but-onward & upward we must go.

School systems are struggling-city control boards are dealing with financial issues-many on the verge of bankruptcy are occurring now more than ever. Politics is not the "keep the same person in forever" or the “same party forever”but is creating more of a "lets find out what the problem is" and "WHO" gets the problem resolved.

In Buffalo-one city under control board review - it is not a pretty sight as the schools keep closing down-inner city teachers are needed more than ever-police and firefighter jobs are on the line. The memory of 911 with the heroics of our police-firefighters-community-political spiritual and civilians implanted just as fresh as yesterday-but with a difference-these people and jobs are in a SURVIVAL MODE.

What about California with a 39-40 BILLION DOLLAR DEFICIT-Arnold is a big man-can he pull the right people together to get the job done-well see? Taking a quick look at Buffalo and California-they both have one thing in common-the Democratic party essentially has been the power base-For Buffalo--their politics leave a lot to be desired-why-because the Democratic party has been in charge-there arent many or few Republicans to put the blame on-if it isnt working-WHY NOT?-you can scream at the Senior & Jr Senators(Schumer & Clinton) from New York(both Democrats) & a Republican Governor-(Pataki) for more money but it doesnt change the fact that the politics in Buffalo havent worked and we have not done the proper job of managing the city & its many departments. The school closings are a SERIOUS issue.

As for California-I remember the recent recall election of Gray Davis when Arnold Schwarzennegger became Governor-and his biggest challenge will be the Democratic party and THEIR cooperation-they let him know it as well- Alls fair in politics & maybe not so fair-but it seems to me that working together to resolve the blatant overspending and mismanagement of departments and tax payers money is SERIOUS and takes a closer look by the VOTERS who need to take care of their cities-communities and education systems by putting into public office the people that will get the job done.

I am not on a Democratic bashing tirade-One of My life mottos-"The Truth Is what It Is". This years BUSH vs KERRY Presidential election in 2004 will be one for the record books by the time all the mud slinging is over. Well soon see who the last man is (and maybe some day-who the last WOMAN is standing . I might add that Hillary is NOT the only woman capable of getting the job done. There are many fine women on both sides of the political ladder Republican and Democrat worthy of discussion. Another subject for the near future to write on. I will also have information on other control board cities as available.

Getting back to the problem of schools shutting down-take a look at your area-how many schools are closed-how many have had to shut down-or close "temporarily".I went to a school meeting recently and the meeting was about changing school standards. I made it very clear (especially to the school board administrators and politicians present) that if you change school standards & it affects the teaching & reputation of a school-including the present & FUTURE students interested in going to that school-you will NEVER-NEVER-NEVER get your school back-or those students-once its tampered with and politics and "slice n dice" administrators come in. Your school is finished-lost its clarity and vision of the students its meant to reach.

I watched as red faced school board members smiled weakly and said "its about the money". Yeah-Right-and what about THE STUDENTS! Different forms of abuse & this is ONE of them-yet it doesnt have to be this way-VOTERS--KNOW YOUR POLITICIANS and parents-get involved in your schools!

Going back to the subject of child abuse education-Our children ARE the FUTURE-PULSE and LIFEFORCE of our planet. Nurture a child and they grow-abuse a child and the scars last a lifetime. As I said in “The Lions Imprint” governments know this-militaries know it-politicians know it- So do doctors-lawyers-educators-child care and child mental health professionals -law enforcement and those that deal in the “dark side” of human depravity and misery.

Experts are just some of the leaders to help fight the war on the battlefield regarding the issue of child abuse education. The only ones who dont truly know what abuse is-are the CHILDREN. The ones who suffer through the hellish nightmare that abuse is. I have read that children especially between the ages of 4-6 years old endure terrible shocks to the mind & body during traumatic moments-whether it is sexual-physical-terror-emotional-it can have an effect on the mind-many of these children develop photographic memories up to more than 40 times the power of a normal child-I can attest to the power of that kind of shock-as you read on through this website-you will understand my feelings & commentary on the subject of abuse.

The subject material here is sexual abuse-physical abuse-sexual exploitation-emotional and psychological abuse-fear-terror-intimidation-bullying-verbal abuse-manipulation and about the way we react and treat others-and this includes PARENTING-BIGTIME! We deal with our children/students reactively. Now changes must be made. Proactive education to treat the many issues of abuse need to be made in the classroom. 911 is the catalyst that changed everything. Look at our conflicts. Yes the United States has been vulnerable. Looking at our recent conflicts of WW1-WW2-Pearl Harbor-Korea-Vietnam-and the more recent conflicts of Grenada-Somalia-Lebanon-Desert Storm-Afghanistan-and Iraq-including the past history of terrorism too numerous to mention- has changed the way we live & look at life. Overprotection and hiding or sweeping issues of abuse under the carpet are not proper ways of dealing with the severity of the subject.

It is TIME that child welfare professionals bridge the gap between the educational systems and arm our children with the knowledge they need to survive. Our children-students if you will- are NOT punching bags to be slapped around-bullied-yelled at- kicked-chained up-terrorized- mind controlled. They are not to be- tossed aside-because you(the “parent”) didnt want the responsibility of caring-loving and raising a child. The mind of a child needs guidance and needs to be free to experience life from a "kinder-gentler" point of view. Child welfare experts can really make a huge difference in the teaching and structuring of child abuse education programs.

To prevent abuse-let THEM-TODAYS STUDENTS- TOMORROWS PARENTS & THE NEXT GENERATION-learn of childrens plights locally-nationally-internationally and globally. Who and where better to educate children but in our CLASSROOMS with the experience and expertise of teachers with child welfare professional guidance and more. Teachers can be taught to deal with this. As I stated there needs to be a forum that will bring together the right balance of professional disciplines from education-administration-politics-enforcement agencies- judiciaL representatives from the proper court systems-cult-de-programmers & psychological warfare experts-foster care advocates and the health & mental health fields and more-that will look at this subject from a fresh perspective and get something started and work on a testing area. Remember-the cost is high if you do NOTHING (like the 4.5 BILLION DOLLAR fiscal child 1998 welfare program costs for the US)resulting in the duality of mental health and psychological destruction that hits us in so many other areas like crime-drugs-pregnancy alcoholism and single families creating society and community costs in dollars and worse.

I know there are people out there that do care. Iin order to do so an evolutionary process of teaching and reaching students regarding abuse needs to be made. Children and teens can be taught this subject material and they must be taught accountablilty for the lives they will bring into this world.

As a survivor of abuse I know the heartache of losing family for forty years. In my world-faith and miracles exist because Ive seen them-experienced them-and worked to make them happen. I can exist in a world of bitterness but choose-NOT-to. Ive learned the importance of communication and the respect for those with leadership capabilities. Remember-child abuse has no boundaries and no discriminating factors. Its EVERYWHERE in numbers too big to ignore.

I appeal to those of you-who are communicators-who are leaders-who are people of vision and realize how important this is. Change needs to take place now-more than ever-our children-todays students-all need help on this subject-what better place to start this-than in the USA where we put our scandals and pain in the front window for the world to see-yet in a time of war-our country stands strong.

President George W. Bush is passionate about the safety of our country and "No Child Left Behind" stance on education while dealing with the tough issues of politics, the economy and education. While no program has all the answers-it is a start toward dealing with the severity of education issues in the United States. A lot more needs to be done regarding education and my comments I feel are critically important on the subject of Child Abuse Education in a curriculm setting. (The United States budget on education is the largest education spending budget to date). Our First Lady Laura Bush makes education a top priority, sorely needed and our First Lady backs it up with her lifestyle. Her stand on empowering women as a global communicator and her educational programs for women and girls in Afghanistan is to be commended.

As I wind down my first "Lions Den" article-some thoughts to consider. Just as abuse in its many forms knows no boundaries-the cure-if you will-through education should have no limitations. It should not be limited by politics nor closed minds. Its "cure" lies in the size of the visions and the hearts of those who wish to attack this evil problem that haunts society through the eyes and souls of its afflicted children.

I remember one day I was thinking about how to present this material to the website-a daunting task & I needed a break just to relax-I saw myself in my "minds eye" taking a walk-by myself-through a large green meadow-I had my Tamburitza instrument slung over my back like a Serenader or a Minstrel-and out of nowhere-they came running-to the left of me-the right of me-straight at me-and they werent happy-they were children-hundreds-thousands of them-and they were from every race and nationality and belief system.

The first child to reach me was Chinese-her face full of tears-then Black and Indian and White and Asian and Arab and Slavic and Irish and French - too numerous to count and I was overwhelmed. In the blink of an eye they were gone-and I was once again-alone.

This vision taught me-these children-needed a voice-they needed someone to BEGIN breaking down the barriers of abuse education. They are the souls of children in our present and future that are struggling with this issue. On my front web page-if you look closely, it looks like planets-but they are the faces of children. Chinese, African American- male/female. They- todays children are our universe-they are our present and our future-You need to know what hurts them-you should all know. How about..a talisman-a cure..EDUCATION..SOMEBODY..ANYBODY?
Extraordinary Education on abuse.... is truly needed!

"ALL CHILDREN NEED TO BE LOVED"

"TBL"

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