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I am writing this post as part of a blog carnival being hosted by my friend and fellow blogger, Country Fried Mama.  She’s hosting this carnival to promote the message of The Joyful Heart Foundation, a non-profit founded by Law & Order: SVU star, Mariska Hargitay.   (More on that below, right from the mama’s mouth.)

Now, CFM is a mommy-blogger, and so she actually asked us all to write about the world we want for our actual kids.  But, I figure even though I borrow my kids from their actual parents, I can still dream about the world I want for them. 

Remember the movie Miss Congeniality, starring Sandra Bullock?  It’s a movie set at a beauty pageant, and it pokes fun at how in the interview portion all the contestants say they want world peace.  Sandra Bullock’s character finally comes around and admits that she really does want world peace.

Well, I really do want world peace, too.

I want my kids to live in a world of peace and safety.  I want them to live in a world where we don’t have to make special policies and plans to deal with bullying because people have enough respect for one another that they don’t bully each other.  I want them to live in a world where we can forget the seven deadly sins, and talk about the seven heavenly virtues instead. 

There really is a list.  Of seven virtues.  Used to be taught right alongside the seven deadly sins, once upon a time.  How’d we lose them?  In case you’re curious as to the list, they are some variation of  chastity, temperance, charity, diligence, patience, kindness, and humility.  I know that not everyone will agree that all of these things are worth pursuing.  But let’s even just have the ones that speak to how we relate to one another.  Treating each other with charity, patience, and kindness, and approaching people and situations with temperance and humility would certainly be good habits to model for and to teach our children.  Can we agree on that?

Some of you are thinking this is terribly simplistic.  I really don’t care.  I’ve often said it’s the “little things” that make or break a day.  The “simple things,” if you will.  The coffee having the right proportion of milk and splenda.  The copy machine working.  Having people start a conversation with, “Hello.  How are you?
and then really listening for the answer.  Instead of starting with, “Hey – I need you to do something.”

So, color me simplistic, but a world where the norm is kindness would be pretty cool.  Nothing profound here, friends.  Only a little self-discipline is required.

The more we cultivate these virtues, the less we have to worry about the sins.

One more piece to this puzzle – because humans are humans.  I’d like my kids to live in a world where there’s justice.  I want wrongs righted, and needs met, and everyone to partake equally of the resources contained in the earth and in our societies.  And if one person wrongs another, I would like to know that justice would be served there, too.

I am writing today, as I said, to help share the work of an organization dedicated to trying to promote justice.  Pass the word, and, if you can, make a donation to this worthy cause.

Here’s the info on the carnival from Country Fried Mama’s blog – I think she doesn’t mind me putting this part right in here:

About this blog carnival: “The world I want for my children” is an effort to support The Joyful Heart Foundation, which was founded by Law & Order: SVU actress Mariska Hargitay to help victims of sexual assault mend their minds, bodies and spirits and reclaim their lives.  Today, the foundation is at the forefront of an effort to end a disheartening backlog of tens of thousands of rape kits in labs across the country, a backlog that contributes to a rapist’s 80 percent chance of getting away with his crime.  The backlog and its detrimental effects will be the topic of an SVU episode on September 29^th.