Jessica Says: Help Others On Change.org!

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WHAT IS IT? :

Taken from their website:

"Change.org empowers you to create real change in your community, city, or country

Every day, across the world, people like you start campaigns on Change.org to fight for issues they care about — and the Change.org team works to mobilize people to help them win.

We believe that building momentum for social change globally means empowering citizen activists locally. That's why anyone, anywhere — from Chicago to Cape Town – can start their own grassroots campaign for change using our organizing platform.

Your campaign can be about anything. From supporting curbside recycling programs to fighting wrongful deportation to protecting against anti-gay bullying, Change.org members start campaigns around thousands of different issues. To start your own campaign, just click here.

Our mission is to build an international network of people empowered to fight for what's right locally, nationally, and globally. We hope you'll join us."

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JESSICA SAYS:

I get emails from this website ever since I signed my name on one person's petition after finding this website and signing up to it. Every digital signature counts, so please help the lives and well-being of others. The more we as a species can assist others, the better others lives can be, as well as our own.

Please, really check out this website. 

Again, every signature counts.

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To The Readers :

• Will you check out this website?
• Will you sign others petitions?
• What do you think about these petitions and the purpose of this website?
  

Jessica Says: Adopted, Rejected, And Returned?

Artyom Saleviev
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BACKGROUND INFO :
What would you do if you were seven-years-old, adopted, and then sent back to the country you were adopted from?

Artyom Saleviev made global headlines when his American adoptive mother Torry Hansen put him back on a plane to Russia alone and with a letter that stated that she no longer wanted him. Now ten-years-old and in a foster home with a caring foster mother named Vera Egorova, who believed that it was inhumane for a child to be sent back to his country, he seems to finally be doing better.

This particular case sparked outrage in Russia and the government actually froze adoptions to the USA while it sought out that all Russian children would be properly cared for by their adoptive parents. An agreement was finally reached last year and the Russian parliament may soon ratify.

Artyom barely remembers any of the English he had learned in his brief life in the United States, he only remembers how to say, "My name is Artyom."

Ever since these political occurrences, the world has barely heard of Artyom.and though he is perhaps a bit small for his age, slim, and soft spoken, he enjoys many of the things his fellow boys his age enjoys: such as watching TV, playing with toys, joking around with friends. And though his American adoptive mother claimed he had "psychopathic" issues, his foster mother sees nothing of the sort - only that he certainly struggled with the trauma he experienced, and rightfully so.

A US court last month ordered his former adoptive mother to pay child support for Artyom's care, though a set amount has yet to be determined.

All officials are trying to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again because no child should ever have to experience what Artyom did. He never deserved to, either. Though in the meantime, the top Russian official for adoptions, Children's Ombudsman Pavel Astakhov said that he does not expect any further delays for American families hoping to adopt Russian children. 

So what the heck?

Artyom being whisked away by authorities the day his American adoptive mother sent him back to Russia
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JESSICA SAYS :

I have a heart for all adoptees for many reasons, especially since the majority of my extended relatives that I have grown up with have been adopted from different countries or the United States. I remember that my parents mentioned a while ago that this boy had just been sent back and it sicked me. How on earth can anyone just send a child back alone on a plane? And sheesh, he was only seven-year-old at the time, as well, not that ANY age is appropriate to do this.

After doing more research on him, he seems to be adjusting to his new life quite well, which is splendid to read, even though he is the 17th child in this foster home in Moscow.  It is truly a shame, though, when new rules or regulations are crafted by the sacrifice of an innocent. I don't think that is fair.

I wish this kid the best in life and hope that he grows strong from this situation, instead of lets the sadness consume him. 

Again, my heart goes out to all adoptees!

Artyom with Pavel Astakhov, Russia's special presidential envoy for children's rights
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TO THE READERS :

• Have you ever heard of this situation? 
• What are your thoughts on Artyom being sent back by his American adoptive parent? 
• Do you think it's fair that regulations became stricter only when such a horrid incident occured? 

 

American Mythology: What's Under YOUR Bed?

Why, hello, handsome~
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BACKGROUND INFO :

Although I'm sure the more accurate opinion of what American Mythology is, is the fact that the American Dream does not actually exist, but instead, provides some form of comfort and hope for citizens. Despite this assumption, I find the concept of abusing fear and innocence to get people - particularly children - to learn lessons to be far more interesting. Taking the words American Mythology literally.
Like dark American folklore.
But for children.

And as for what's under my bed...hm. A suitcase. Probably a missing sock. Maybe a cockroach thanks to these lovely old dormitories on campus. I don't know. I try not to look. Seriously.

(We might as well just watch a clip of a Tim Burton children's movie....nah...okay, fine, what the heck.)

THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS, 1993
Tim Burton, Director - Danny Elfman, Composer♥

So using fear to teach a lesson....that can't possibly have any negative side effects on children, right?

Right?

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IS IT FAIR? :

Though I am not a parent, I'm somewhat on the fence about whether it's a smart move on the parents' end to instill fear into their child or children just to make sure that they do not do something wrong. Many parents deem scary stories to be too terrifying for young children, yet children tend to ask for such bedtime stories. But what if the story's evil characters send a bad message to the child? Or they have nightmares at night thinking that a monster beneath the bed will eat them if they leave to go downstairs to eat some cookies. (I wonder if the monster would be nice if the kid wanted to eat some celery instead...hm.)

But some say that these scary tales can serve an important purpose as the children go through key developmental stages. Some scary stories are believed to help children face the fears they already have, rather than instill a new fear in them. Some tales relay emotions of abandonment, negative impulses like greed and envy, and many others.It also helps that these generally are books or oral stories, so they're less graphic than something like a scary movie. And the parents have the power to control what exactly their child can and should read or what they as parents can read to their child.

Despite the benefits of such scary stories, there can also be drastic consequences.Though these famous bedtime stories may have higher moral content than some of the fluffier, more conservative stories some parents choose to read, those particular parents deem the scary stories to be inappropriate to read before bedtime.

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JESSICA SAYS :

 I don't personally have a huge problem with a parent reading their child a fairy tale, dark or light, at whatever time, but I think some parents tend to abuse the fact that they can instill fear into their child to get them to be obeying fearful creatures is very wrong. I think it's good for children to be able to learn that doing some things some ways can result in a lesson well-learned, but too much of a seemingly-beneficial thing can end up being detrimental to their psychological health.

I'm not sure if there's much else I can say because I cannot speak from a parental sort of perspective here. I think parents should just be cautious with these sorts of stories, but not overly cautious. Can't be too protective as a parent. That in itself can also be quite dangerous.

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TO THE READERS:

1. What do you think about scary fairy tales being told to children?
2. Do you think some parents abuse the power behind a scary story?
3. What was your favorite scary fairy tale told to you as a child?