Come they told me. . . pa rum pum pum pump um
The little drummer boy did not have anything fit as a gift to a king. So he brought his drum and when he asked if he could just play his drum, the Baby Jesus smiled. And so he played his best for him.
Such a Christmas story carries with it the innocence of a kid. He had nothing . . . so he played his best for Him, with all his heart.
Not just the innocence. The possibilities, their unlimited potential, they have the future in their hands. . . . our future.
But what have we done as a nation for the little drummer boys in this country this year that is about to go. Still prevalent in many sites is the sight of a little boy scavenging on a pile. From a distance he appears to be holding a short black rod. Then he shook the black rod and a multitude of flies flew from it. Then its true nature became clear. It was a banana cue. The kid then innocently took a bite of it. It was something normal for him.
Where was his mom, if he had one? Or did he grew up in that pile of garbage, uncared for, and the government’s agency for such unfortunate never happened to pass by? Or they just ignored him, or the likes of him? Or the government never really cared? Or, more painful to the gut, ….. that we never really cared?
Many years ago, there was a law passed against abuse of women and children. If that was an achievement of the government, as indeed, it was, that was ages ago. Nothing followed for many years already. Worse, its implementation is at best spotty.
We don’t even have a law making it a major crime to drive a vehicle under the influence of liquor when a child is in it.
Then there is the move now to lower the age of children who are exempt from criminal responsibility. The justification is that many kids—below 18 years old—are now being used by crime syndicates as co-conspirators, either as drug couriers or in some other capacity. This is not protecting the child. The cause of their involvement is usually the incompetence of parents and government to look after their welfare. That is where the solution to the problem should be found.
Let us all work to secure the future of all little drummer boys for that would be securing our own future. The government should lead the way in a big way, while we ordinary citizens contribute in whatever small way we could.**