Jan 23 - Line for the day

'"Come in!" said a quiet, low voice.'
- Pg 73, Come To The Circus, by Enid Blyton

The line, in a children's book, immediately created a sense of foreboding in me. It (the feeling) made no sense. This was an innocent children's book. Enid Blyton was the staple of my childhood vicarious adventures. I loved the naughty, intrepid, fun loving kids. But my first reaction was one of dread. Thats what this world has come to....lost innocence. As a mother of a young daughter, I am constantly worried that my child is going to grow up in a world that has no place for the innocents. Our children are barely innocent anymore. Every day in the media you hear about unspeakable acts on innocent children, while a strangled justice system runs circles around itself and the perpetrators run bold and free. From a young age, you are told to beware of strangers, strange things and strange places. And never ever to accept anything from anyone. Forget strangers, today most crimes are committed by known people. In this dreadful scenario, where is the space to let a child's natural curosity grow? A child's development is expansive...it needs space. But for security reasons, we are constantly shrinking this allowable space for them. And even then the worry doesn't go away. So much so that an innocent statement in a much-loved book starts to take on sinister tones. What world are we bringing our children into?

This may of course also be a parent's heightened need to keep their child secure. It reminds me of Marlin, the dad fish in the movie 'Finding Nemo'. There is a dialogue between him and Dory, his travel companion. Marlin promised his son that he would never let anything happen to him (Nemo). Dory says, thats a funny thing to promise...because then Nothing would ever happen to him! As a parent, this is the fine line to walk. A very very fine line.