Children – Our Hope for Peace and Prosperity

He who joyfully marches in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would suffice.

– Albert Einstein

Peace and prosperity for the entire mankind is a noble idea and there are many organizations working towards this end. History teaches that there have been various issues making this idea practically difficult to get implemented. Religious and political differences, geographical barriers and nationalism are some of the factors contributing to the difficulty in attaining the goal of universal peace and prosperity. With the adult population already ‘contaminated’, I don’t find much to depend on them to attain the goal. But children can definitely provide a silver lining in the cloud.

Unfortunately, children are often caught young and brainwashed in accordance with the whims and fancies of adults who control politics, religion and nationalism. The danger posed to mankind by various terrorist outfits supported by political and the so called ‘religious’ groups can be wiped out only if children are saved from their grip. This is not an easy task. The United Nations (UN) should take the initiative in formulating a strategy for freeing the children below 15 years from the grip of ‘contaminated’ adults who live with ridiculous notions on religion and politics.

A child’s brain develops at the fastest rate during the first few years of its life, right from the time it is in the mother’s womb. The mother plays a profound role in the development of the child’s personality and this points to the importance of the health care (physical as well as mental) provided to the mother, along with the child.

How children are to be trained is to be decided by a committee formed by experts appointed by the UN and the member nations should strictly follow the recommendations of the committee. All true religions are for the benefit of humanity and therefore religious practices which are beneficial for the entire mankind may be encouraged. There is a baseless belief that the advances in science and technology have shifted modern man away from religion. As Einstein once remarked, scientists are truly religious because of their faith in the orderliness of the universe. So let us have an international body under the supervision of the UN to recommend a training programme for children so that in future we will have adults who will be true world citizens desirous and capable of working for the peace and prosperity of the entire mankind.