As the years progressed I occasionally pondered my little Peruvian boy. I wondered what his short life had been like. I wondered about his parents, and the society that would sacrifice a child to god. As I pondered his fate, I realized things haven't changed that much over the last 500 years.

I began to see how many children in our own time are treated as expendable. In our modern, enlightened world, we are still sacrificing the lives of children. Granted, most of the atrocities to children happen in undeveloped countries, but it is all too easy for us to turn our heads and to blame someone else. I recognize that we cannot easily fix many of the injustices done to children in these countries. But if we don't try to educate and activate the world, the innocent will still suffer early deaths. They are sacrificed just as the child found in Peru was sacrificed. Perhaps the "gods" we worship today are different from the ones worshiped in Peru long ago … but children are sacrificed to our gods too. Now we worship the "god of Successful-War" or the "god of Making- A-Buck." And we are just as guilty as the ancient Peruvians.

Even here in the USA, we willingly sacrifice children too. We even pass laws to protect our own beliefs. Abortion is debated in our courts, and even partial birth abortions are legal here. I am saddened that we as a nation have accepted the innocent murdering of children by this method.

In many small ways, we are willing to turn our heads, and do not consider the effects of what we do on the innocent lives of children in America. Do we always buckle up? Do we never drink and drive? Are we willing to sacrifice to make sure our air and water are clean enough for future generations? Are we willing to do whatever it takes to stop child abuse in all its forms, whether physical, or mental, or spiritual? Do we volunteer in our neighborhoods, towns, and counties to serve the needs of children? Are we willing to participate, or do we just talk and turn our heads?