"I Believe"

"I Believe"
By:  Jane Daugherty

I believe in children's laughter, the sweet perfume of a newborn baby's skin and that every child is entitled to happiness, decent housing, health care, proper nutrition and good education.

I believe that our schools should be places of discovery and growth, not of danger, that teachers should be paid more than lawyers and that parenting should be a required course in every high school.

I believe that "quality time" is a phony notion that cannot substitute for substantial time spent with our children.

I believe that baseball and other children's games can be magical and should be wrestled from screaming, competitive coaches and returned to play.

I believe that childhood should be a time of sand castles and celebration and that the defense of innocence is as important as the defense of our borders.

And I believe that our most urgent mission should be putting the needs of our children first.