"I have found that it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folks that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love," Gandalf says when great deeds are being discussed to counter the evil forces threatening Middle Earth in J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings.
Classical literature astounds me again and again with its subtle and sometimes no-so subtle application to life today. Take for instance, our guns and gangs problem.
Whenever there is a shooting, it causes most community members to fear for their kids and neighbourhoods. What can be done? Large anti-gang strategies, more policing, more gun-control, or any other number of government-funded efforts are requested and offered to stem the flow of youth into addiction and gang life. Yet, according to the experts at a Guns and Gangs Symposium I recently attended on behalf of the District Parent Advisory Council, the most effective preventative measures are fairly easy to do for everyone.
Once in a gang, it is nearly impossible to get out, so even though there a number of fairly successful initiatives, the best those initiatives can do is offer former gang members a decent life. Never joining a gang, or prevention initiatives, are much more effective than treatment. This is where the ordinary person can have a huge impact, with small deeds.
For most youth, the path to gang life is through addictions. Once addicted, the drugs and the high become increasingly expensive, they become easy targets for recruitment. To help prevent kids going into gangs:
Discourage addiction by:
- cleaning out your medicine cabinet, as well as your parent's, and throw out any unused or old prescription painkillers.
-don't teach your children that a pill is the solution to every pain or when they are feeling down.
-be a safe family to visit for your children's friends whose home life is difficult.
-a bigger small thing you can be involved in requiring more time is become a big brother or big sister with Big Brothers Big Sisters (250-563-7410 here in PG)
What surprised me was the simplicity of the solutions. The prevention programs showcased there were basically giving kids what we all know they need; loving adults in their lives who have expectations for good behavior. No fancy dance lessons or expensive sports programs are needed, just caring adults who take an interest in them and spend time with them. Just "small everyday deeds of kindness by ordinary folks."
