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The President, Politics, and Society: Allow the Little Children!
“Suffer (allow) the little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven” (KJV Matt. 19:14).
Little children. Innocence. Nonjudgmental love. Delight and awe in discovery. Are they naive? Limited? Jesus said the kingdom of heaven is made up of these qualities, and more. I remember my childhood. Allow the little children.
In southeast Missouri, known as the Bootheel, a mostly southern mentality prevailed. My grandparents lived in a little town with a population of 500. I remember one visit. After a five hour drive from St. Louis, my dad pulled into one of the two gas stations in the area. No car air conditioning, a Missouri midsummer night, barely able to make out the station pumps before closing time, and the interior lights struggling through the thick, dusty air just enough to show the way to the door. We went inside for a cold soda.
At five years old, I could read fairly well, thanks to my mom and dad both, but especially dad. He had me sit on his lap for a few minutes every day when he came home from work and read the newspaper. He would show me words and help me make sense of them, phonics and sight words. I really could read somewhat, so when we went inside, I read two signs, one spanning the drinking fountain and bathrooms and the other on…
