When I Was Young, I Was Religious.

Many Of Us Regard Ourselves As Mildly Liberal Or Centrist Politically, Voice Fairly Pleasant Sentiments About Our Poor Children, Contribute Money To Send Poor Kids To Summer Camp, Feel Benevolent. We're Not Nazis; We're Nice People. We Read Sophisticated Books. We Go To Church. We Go To Synagogue. Meanwhile, We Put Other People's Children Into An Economic And Environmental Death Zone. We Make It Hard For Them To Get Out. We Strip The Place Bare Of Amenities. And We Sit Back And Say To Ourselves, "well, I Hope That They Don't Kill Each Other Off. But If They Do, It's Not My Fault.

I Emphasize Teachers Because They Are Largely Left Out Of The Debate. None Of The Bombastic Reports That Come From Washington And Think Tanks Telling Us What Needs To Be 'fixed' - I Hate Such A Mechanistic Word, As If Our Schools Were Automobile Engines - Ever Asks The Opinions Of Teachers.

Charity Isn't A Good Substitute For Justice.

You Have To Remember. . .that For This Little Boy Whom You Have Met, His Life Is Just As Important To Him, As Your Life Is To You. No Matter How Insufficient Or How Shabby It May Seem To Some, It Is The Only One He Has.

The First Ten, Twelve Or Fifteen Years Of Life Are Excavated Of Inherent Moral Worth In Order To Accommodate A Regimen Of Basic Training For The Adult Years That Many Of The Poorest Children May Not Even Live To Know.