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A chilling effect

Virginia de Leon

While putting together a story about “Free Range Kids” and finding that balance between safety and independence, I was reminded of an interview I had last year with a local pastor. We talked about the growing awareness surrounding child abuse and how churches and other organizations are doing a better job to make sure kids are safe.

At the same time, we also discussed the “chilling effect” created by these changes. It’s no longer acceptable for adults to initiate contact with kids, he told me. Children, from an early age, are taught to be wary of people they don’t know. Sometimes, this affects our own willingness to help others and be compassionate.

The pastor recalled being in his car on a winter day and seeing a boy shivering in the cold while walking down the street. He thought about pulling over and offering the boy a ride home. “But I drove on by,” he said.

I couldn’t blame him. The child probably would have never accepted a ride from a stranger. His parents probably told him to never to do such a thing.

This is our reality now, but I guess I can’t help but feel a little sad about the inevitable erosion of trust. “It’s an unraveling of the community contract,” the pastor told me. And that contract, he says, once held all of us responsible for the safety of children and other vulnerable people in our community.

* This story was originally published as a post from the blog "Are We There Yet?." Read all stories from this blog