Past Reflections

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October 04, 2009 - Kids Killing Kids: The Real Olympian Challenge

by Father Edward L. Beck, C.P.

I lived in Chicago for four years and loved the city. I’m just not loving what I’m seeing now. Many of us watched horrified at the beating death of 16-year-old Derrion Albert, a quiet honor student who was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Four teens have been charged with first-degree murder for beating Derrion to death with wooden planks and kicking him in the head. And all this the same week that President Obama flew to Copenhagen to convince the Olympic Committee of the virtues of his Windy City where there were 290 shootings last school year and 34 teen deaths. But we re hearing more about Swine Flu than that. Why? Because these are poor minority kids killing each other. We’ve come to expect it. And what can we do about it anyway? Well, one thing is we have to begin to get across to our youth the value and sacredness of human life. That message has obviously been lost. There are too many gangs and too many guns and too many drugs. Life is seen as cheap. And as a result, we are burying our future. The despair we feel is understandable. But maybe we’re not feeling it enough. I know we have a lot of domestic and foreign issues to contend with. And our President has a lot on his plate. But instead of flying to Copenhagen this week maybe he should have been on a plane home to Chicago instead. The place where he began community organizing is in a disorganized state of emergency. Kids are dying at the hands of other kids. Maybe the voice and presence of a hometown President can do something to halt the bleeding. Seems to me that’s the real Olympian challenge.

To watch Father Beck give the above Reflection, click here.