Letters, Jun. 24, 1996

WHO SPEAKS FOR KIDS?

You ask, "who speaks for kids?" the answer is, Everyone should [NATION, June 3]. Would we rather pay for effective schools or ineffective prisons? Obviously, schools that work. Would we rather pay for free immunization or long-term medical care? Again, the answer is obvious and apolitical. Applause for Marian Wright Edelman and the Children's Defense Fund! LITA LINZER SCHWARTZ Wyncote, Pennsylvania

The longer the media, including TIME, continue to hold up the likes of Edelman and Hillary Clinton as icons of child protection, the longer it will take to help the children who need it. This country does not require a government to raise its children, nor does it need re-heated, polarizing programs from the '60s. It does need to recognize and learn from the vast majority of parents, from those at all levels of society who put their children first every day. Co-opting children into yet another special-interest class with a march on the capital is exploitative and counterproductive. DEAN PAYNTER Salt Lake City, Utah

Edelman has long been my personal hero. No one would argue with the fact that the needs of all children are increasingly not being met. Where we get mired in the muck of politics is in finding solutions to the problems. My first commitment is to my own children, then to the kids in my neighborhood and extended family, then to those in my children's schools, then to youngsters in the wider community. If we can all think of ourselves as casting a stone that makes ripples in a pond, we can make a difference in our Stand for Children. PAULETTE HANSEN Columbia, Missouri

When I was five years old, I was removed from my home and for 11 years endured the pain and loneliness of foster homes, group homes, other institutions and even homelessness. Yet today I hold a doctorate and work for a major philanthropic foundation. If children's advocates and policymakers don't know what to do for children, I do: provide them with connectedness, continuity, dignity and opportunity. These four powerful factors can nurture children and youth by giving them meaningful and caring relationships with adults, a positive legacy, respect and the possibility for a life filled with potential. These principles should be the international standard for making decisions for all children and adults. No longer should we expect children to navigate without a map, steer without a rudder or seek without a friend. JOHN R. SEITA Kalamazoo, Michigan Via E-mail

Childhood is when we learn the morals that guide our lives. A concerted bipartisan effort to focus on children's issues would eliminate most of the inane haggling that now goes on. It is not a Republican or Democratic issue; it's a national one. If we don't teach morals to our children, we will soon become a nation without morals. DAVID L. KUTZ San Francisco

Only when politicians ask parents to take responsibility for themselves and their offspring will we see positive change. Until then, parents will be looking to the government to provide what they are supposed to: food and shelter, immunization, day care, attendance at school and the teaching of values. It's too bad that somewhere along the line, America as a society has told parents that it's O.K. to dump their responsibilities. WILLARD P. SPRINGER Manitowoc, Wisconsin