What to do about the babies? Ten Questions for Nelson Madela and Martin Luther King

By Joshua Sparrow, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA

The following is an excerpt from a brief article in the most recent issue of Perspectives.  To read the full piece, go to: http://www.waimh.org/files/Perspectives%20in%20IMH/2014_2-3/Sparrow_Page8_Perspectives_IMH_2-3_2014.pdf

"Caught in the crossfire of grownup politics, babies, and children are traumatized, or maimed, or murdered – in Gaza, Syria, a Malaysian jet, in the US heartlands, at its border and across the world.  We all want to protect the babies and children, but how?  

"In other desperate times, leaders like Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King were able to restore hope and inspire action that changed the workd.  Perhaps their responses to past challenges can help us find our way today.  

"Q1.  What is going on?

A.  I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight af racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a relity… I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.  (Martin Luther King, Jr.  Acceptance speech on the occasion of the award of the Nobel Peace Prize, December, 10, 1964)."

Perspectives in Infant Mental Health is a quarterly publication of the World Association for Infant Mental Health.  Permission to reprint materials from Perspectives is granted, provided appropriate citation for source is noted.  Suggested format:  Perspectives in Infant Mental Health 2014, Vol 22, No. 2-3, WAIMH.