Last week I went to get bookmarks created at a local office supply store because I thought if people did not have the money or know enough to purchase the book, they could start with the bookmark as a way of getting the message out. Little did I know that this experience would show the power of this project and that sharing its message. I was working with a design specialist when the young manager walked by and asked "What is the Innocent Children Project?" and I began to share. I stated that I don't care what people's beliefs are, or who we support in politics in this country or around the world, but what I do care about is when we fight, when we oppress, when we are filled with anger for others it is always the children that suffer the most and I am trying to shed a light on this. I told him a little more and that the stories are told from the perspective of the children and hopefully that will cause that cause people to pause.
He asked me if any of the children are from Palestine and I told him the third of the ten stories are about a Palestinian boy caught in the trap of hatred that never ends. See the young manager's family had come to America when he was five to seek a better life away from the violence and hatred. We talked for a long time (I think at some point the young designer looked overwhelmed by the experience he and I were sharing). I stated I don't care if you think the Israelis are wrong or the Palestinians are wrong. None of that matters because the children are the first to die." There are no easy solutions to this problem or any other. For Heaven's sake it has been waging for thousands of years. But if I can just get people to stop staring at the news and listen to this child, fictional or not, then maybe I have made a difference. He was so grateful for me to listen to his story and so appreciative that I was sharing that of the Palestinian child. As my wife and daughter came over to us after purchasing some supplies for a book signing he turned around to me and said he was covering the bill for the bookmarks.
See?
In five minutes I had made an impact. I was listening to his story and he knew I was trying to share it through my vision.
Knowing this I will continue to get through all the negative that will come my way, because if I can touch one life for change I know I can touch hundreds.
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