Often children are sensitive to fairness. Observe and listen when children interact and are not aware of others who have a presence and change the course of conversation. Among the repetitive refrains may be, “It isn’t fair.”
Children may be taught to be fair, to maintain a sense of playing fair and expect fairness in return.
Children often learn too quickly that the world is not fair and values are not consistent from community to community, from country to country, and within all cultures.
We know the world is not fair when we find out the majority of the world lives in poverty, that children are innocent victims, and that it may not improve much during their lifetimes.
There will be individuals who think telling a lie is justified if it helps them get their way; that all is fair in love and war, and, many individuals see everything through the lens of either love or war. Telling the truth used to be a permanent value of societies in the United States. Parents taught children right from wrong, and being honest and truthful were shared community values.
We must ask: Are those days behind us? Is being truthful just being naive? That fairness is on the way out? Are we better today because dishonesty can be rewarded and honesty is scorned.
Those are personal questions for each of us to answer and decide for ourselves.
Poverty is allowed in some countries as inevitable. Other countries find a way to solutions. Where are we today and what has been the history in our country.
Each generation must face those serious questions and find its way.
It is no different than each generation in the United States must decide if our democratic republic is worth preserving, worth renewing. Is it okay to lie, cheat, and steal? Then to justify those elements of dishonesty.
We can have a fair, honest, open government, whether national, regional, community, however, it takes hard work and vigilance.
Each generation must make those choices. Understanding is the key to making wise choices.
Community? We have more notices and information than found its way into the pages herein this week. We can offer a few notes for awareness and helpfulness. Such as:
• The new location for the satellite Kendall County Community Food Pantry is First Lutheran Church of Plano, 200 N. Center Street in Plano. It will be open Friday, Oct. 15 and the third Friday of each month from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Food pick-up has no contact. The food pantry had been at PH Miller School and at the Plano School District bus barn.
• Shannon Cameron, executive director of the Aurora Area Interfaith Food Pantry, expressed thankfulness for the recent fundraiser> She wrote: “I want to extend my sincere gratitude to those who supported our Hose Party Birthday Benefit. Because of generosity we raised more than $80.00 to assist families who are food insecure. Your gift will positively impact several families in our community.”
• Cantigny Park in Wheaton will hold its 17th Annual Cantigny 5K run/Walk Saturday, No. 6 It will begin at 9 a.m. with net proceeds a benefit for the Midwest Shelter for Homeless Veterans, a Wheaton nonprofit. Cantigny 5K details are online at runsignup.com. Call 630.260.8167 for race director Brian Gray. The cost is $10. per person.
• The Free Annual Medicare Forum will be held 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 27 at the Oswego Fire Department Community room, 3511 Woolley Road, Oswego. There will be an expert panel. Host is the Oswego Senior Center and Senior Services Associates. It will be present through Zoom.
Clear and Concise, Week 41, Year 2:
Words mater. They assist in communication. It evidently does not matter to everyone and there are many words derived from English, Latin, and other languages. An effort to be correct is a method of clarity.