About Children

By Gloria Purcell

We all want the best for our children and grandchildren. Yet somehow that major goal in our lives, which is also the most important goal of civilization--to pass on the torch of knowledge and the cornucopeia of prosperity to a capable, healthy and hopeful next generation--is slipping from our grasp. More and more children struggle with poverty in this richest of societies (25% of California's children! Every fourth child!). More and more families are torn by divorce, drug problems, lack of time for each other, economic struggle, illness and severe life changes.

However high NASDAQ and the DOW go, however many millionaires arise in Silicon Valley and the Bay Area, no matter how many cars or TVs we have, our quality of life and health and our children's present and future hopes are falling precipitously. Studies show that overall, people who work are earning less in adjusted dollars than we were twenty years ago, and working longer hours. More young people are going to prison instead of to high-tech jobs. We all know that buying a home is less and less likely for more and more families in the Bay Area, especially on the Peninsula. Children's health care has declined, and more children are homeless. This is the ultimate measure of a civilization: whether this society has the foresight and intelligence to insure the future of itself--the future of our children.

I pledge to do my utmost in the Assembly to secure that future, as I have done in my community. I will support legislation that supports the needs of all children, and sponsor legislation that looks ahead to the future needs of all children. Health care for all children in California is a basic necessity. The drug war is affecting children worse than drugs are (please see my website at greens.org/gloriapurcell for my position on drugs). Families need support and encouragement from our communities and each other. Schools must be improved and teachers be better paid. Day care provisions need improvement, and workers and teachers in day care should be given pay due to those who are entrusted with our children. We demand a lot from those who care for and teach our children; we must give them the respect they deserve.

One of the Ten Key Values which define the Green Party is Future Focus. Some of you are familiar with the Native American concept of making decisions which encompass the needs of our descendants of the seventh generation. This is what we need to do. Animal parents do their utmost for their babies day by day, but they cannot see ahead. We can, but we have not been acting upon what we see the future to be; as a society we have been greedily seizing material wealth at the expense of future stability. At some level, we all know this, and it makes us feel insecure in a profound way. Many of us respond to that deep feeling of unease by reaching for more material goods!

Elected public servants, as I hope you will choose me to be, must have the help of those they serve if they are to achieve your goals. You who are parents and grandparents can make personal choices every day to support your own family's children and those of other families, even to the seventh generation. Drive less and reduce the number of children who get cancer. Buy few toys; invest for your children instead in socially responsible mutual funds. When your children eat organically grown food, fewer acres will be sprayed with pesticides that cause deformities in children. Get to know and support your child's teacher. Take two hours off work once a month to help in the classroom, and read with your child at home. Resolve to phone or email your state and federal representatives more; they must hear from you to know and respond to your needs.

You who are not parents and grandparents, and especially those who choose never to be, are aware that the future of us all rests on other people's children. Do your best for them; support parents when you have the opportunity and reach out if you haven't before; be thoughtful in consumer choices and think about what you want to do for the children in your community. Homeless and abused children face acute need. All of us who work for employers can work to provide child care facilities at or near the workplace. Phone or email your state and federal representatives on behalf of parents you know are struggling.

Politicians are always willing to say they care about children, but in fact Barbie and Ken have more influence in Washington and Sacramento than our children do! Don't let big corporations achieve their goals before your elected representatives get around to yours! As a person and as a Green, I am deeply committed to happy, healthy, well-educated children who can lead us capably into the kind of future we want. Please cast your vote for me on November 7.