. . . and a child shall lead them . . . .

Someone sent me this video:

This child is an adult today.

When a child says this,

she is labeled bright, 

precocious,

idealistic,

and everyone smiles

and sheds a tear

for their own lost innocence.

But at least we listen to her.

I am a grown woman
my feet have passed through many doors
on this planet.
When I spoke like this
to my last boyfriend,
he laughed at me,
as if I was a naieve fool.

Sometimes, in the West,

we also listen to the
wise from the East,
who understand
what we want to hear:




Or we listen to elderly, saintly 

Indian women

who carry the burden of being

thoughtful, caring 

Christian adults

for all of us

(despite the fact that they are rarely

members of any recognized christian assembly).

But (in the popular Western mind, we believe)

they can't really be credible;

after all, this woman

lives in such a backwards, crowded land

and she almost looks like she has no gender.

So we let them live
their lives of sacrifice,
and take comfort from the fact
we mouth agreement with them,
and send them a little money
every now and then.

When an adult man speaks in a manner like this,

he is labeled a fool:

Well, I've watched this world

decline

in the hands of men

who would have us believe

that children,

saintly third-world women,

and vegetarian congressmen

are misdirected.

Throughout the 20th Century,

I was willing to listen

to the war mongers

because I was mad

at myself, and felt that

annihilation

was the only solution.

But now I can see that

the dream of annihilation

can be all too true,

and it is not

what God intended.

We need to start listening

to the innocent

and the misdirected

now

before it's too late.