life's licenses

life is so...interesting, for lack of a better word.

isn't it funny that in order to be legally allowed to drive, you first have to apply for a "learner's permit," in which you have to pass a test proving that you have studied and now know your state's driving laws. then you are required to retain your learner's permit for a certain period of time whilst gaining more knowledge and skill on the road. you then have to apply for a driver's license, then take and skillfully pass a series of exams to prove that you are fit to operate a motor vehicle. they want to make sure you understand all the rules, what to do and what not to do, how to do this and that, so that you do not endanger other people's lives on the road. therefore, if you fail to prove that you are a fit driver, the state can (and often does) "fail" you on your exam and denies you a license to drive. you must then reapply and begin the process again. after all, every time you operate a car, you are exercising a great deal of power and influence in the lives of those driving and riding around you. and if you do so recklessly, you are potentially harming another human being or destroying a life.

however, there's no such application process, no such examination, no such pass/fail procedure to prove if you're fit to be a parent. anyone and everyone who has pushed through puberty can conceive and give birth whenever and however they choose (barring physical incapability, of course). no one requires you to fill out an application, put your name into the "system," answer a bunch of questions and then take some tests to prove if you've got what it takes to raise children. yet, every time you parent a child, you exercise a great deal of power and influence in the lives of those littles ones you are raising. and if you do so recklessly, you are potentially harming another human being or destroying a life.

every day, countless babies are birthed into this world to unfit and reckless parents. parents addicted to drugs, alcohol, or other harmful behaviors. countless babies are birthed into this world to parents (mothers AND fathers alike) who are more interested in their own lives and their own "fun" than they are the lives and well-being of their children. every day, baby after baby is abandoned somewhere because a parent didn't want them. every day a child is sexually or otherwise physically abused by a parent who has no regard for their protection and safety. as a parent, one has a great deal to do with how their child grows up and views the world. what happens (or doesn't happen) in childhood will affect a child for rest of his or her life - relationships, self-esteem, experiences, choices. our parents willingly accept a huge responsibility when they willingly conceive a child (i don't believe in "accidents"; sex = potential pregnancy, each and every time).

before a potential parent conceives a child, there's no one standing there with a clipboard of prerequisites that a person must have before creating a new life: a job to be able to financially care for this child's needs, emotional and mental stability, a loving heart that is willing to protect and secure a child for the rest of his or her life at all costs, a desire to see the child fully thrive in life, and therefore doing whatever possible to ensure that happens. where is this list? where is the Parent Instructor (as we have Driving Instructors) that makes sure you can do this parenting thing before you have a child, and will fail you if you do not?

i'm so tired of seeing children being raised in drama-filled households, where one or both parents are absent, where the child is being raised by some third-party, or worse yet, is raising him or herself. i'm tired of seeing children grown up acting out and with severe emotional and learning problems because the mom would rather be out getting drunk in a club than being at home cuddling her child and reading a story to him. i'm tired of seeing young girls grow up living promiscuously and dressing provocatively because they're yearning for male attention and love that they never got from their fathers. i'm tired of young men growing up with such loathing and disrespect towards women because their mothers never gave them the love and affection they needed. i'm tired of children being yanked from unfit homes and subsequently growing up "in the system," bouncing in and out of foster homes, group homes, detention centers and prisons because neither parent properly cared for them - or didn't care at all. it's not fair for so many kids to have to grow up with such hard and miserable lives just because their parents made a choice to conceive them and couldn't or wouldn't handle the responsibility.

you guys better hope i never get elected Queen of the World. if i do, be prepared to see lots of clipboard wielding people by your bedsides (just kidding)