Editing 78-10-A6 (section)

= Charity =

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=== Transcript ===
You've heard me criticize government many times for taking on
tasks that properly should be left to the people. To tell you the
truth, a very real fear of mine is that government with its many
social reforms may rob us of that great sense of generosity and charity
which is our American heritage.

Not too long ago I received a letter from a long time friend,
[[wikipedia:Robert_Young_(actor)|Robert Young]]. To younger listeners, I'm speaking of the Robert Young
you probably know as [[wikipedia:Marcus_Welby,_M.D.|Dr. Welby]]. In his letter he told me some facts
about child abuse--that is the number one killer of children under five
years of age--that 60 percent of abuse victims are not yet two years
old--that 325,000 cases are on record, but experts say the real total,
including the unreported, is probably over a million.

Those, of course, are just statistics--they don't tell about a
father plunging a squirming 14-month old son into a tub of scalding
water because he cried or a nine year old retarded boy beaten while he
knelt on carpet tacks. They don't tell of little Mary Beth.

Investigating officers went to a typical suburban residence where
they were greeted by a neatly dressed young mother. There were two
boys, ages six and eight, in the room who seemed to be uncommonly
quiet. When the officers mentioned that neighbors had reported hearing.
screams, the young mother said she had disciplined one of her children
for misbehaving. As she was talking, the officers heard a soft
whimper, like the sound of a hurt animal coming from a room down the
hall.

While the two boys cowered in fear and the mother protested, the
officers threw open a bedroom door. There was an overpowering stench
of urine, vomit and defecation. Then they saw the little girl huddled
naked in a corner of the bed--one wrist tied to the bed post with an
electric cord. An ugly blue, black swelling had closed one eye, her
lip was split and her mouth was swollen.

As her mother followed the officers into the room, little Mary
Beth, through her bruised and swollen lips, said: "Mommy, if I die,
then will you love me?"

Neighbors said this little battered animal was really a bright,
beautiful and charming child. Her punishment had been for wetting the
bed.

In his letter, Robert Young told me about "Children's Village",
a modern residential facility near Los Angeles on 119 acres, where
abused children can be cared for--where they will hear possibly for
the first time a kind voice as they are tucked in bed with a teddy bear
or a doll.

Children's Village U.S.A.--because some of your fellow citizens
wanted to make a battered, hurting child whole again.

This is Ronald Reagan.

Thanks for listening.
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=== Details ===
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<TR><TD WIDTH="150">Batch Number</TD><TD WIDTH="150">{{PAGENAME}}</TD></TR>
<TD>Production Date</TD><TD>07/15/[[Radio1978|1978]]</TD></TR>
<TD>Book/Page</TD><TD>[[Radio_Commentary_Books#Reagan.27s_Path_to_Victory|RPtV-336]]</TD></TR>
<TD>Audio</TD><TD></TD></TR>
<TD>Youtube?</TD><TD>No</TD></TR>
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===Added Notes===

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