If I were given to such imaginings - of course, as an
educated liberal American I am not - I might think that God is sending us a
message, as we read of the horrific fates that have befallen many of our
little girls lately.
The cry of the mother of Violet and Iris, "How can they be
gone?" not only makes my own heart bleed but has to chill every human
heart that hears it. Such agony is echoed in the cries of the mothers of
Sarah and Jon-Benet and Molly and Elizabeth and Samantha; indeed, the cries
of the mothers of all the anonymous little girl victims in the Balkans, the
Middle East, Africa, and Central/South America all must be heard.
We have abhorred human sacrifice in the ancients. Why do we tolerate it
today, in the name of the marketplace? To counteract images of violence, and
worse, that flood our culture, we have a sacred obligation to restore to our
entire society respect for the virtues like honor and courage, and concern
for women and children.
We strive with out last breath to protect children like Violet and Iris,
even then sometimes fate defeats us. If we continue to accept the casual
amorality with which our society, including our media and our money
handlers, teaches not only our children but those who would harm them, we
cannot blame fate for the consequences.
HILDA M. FARRELL, Medway
