On a recent Saturday I spent several wonderful hours with my grandchildren. They were as happy and carefree as a 2-year-old and a 3-yearold could be. Watching them run and play and sing and explore their big, new world reminded me just how gloriously happy and carefree childhood should be.

My daughter and her husband were there for the occasion. They watched the little ones a little more closely than usual. Probably because they just learned they will become first-time parents in October.

After the crowd left I spent a few extra moments thanking God for all my blessings.

Then two days later I spent an entire morning trying not to cry or scream in outrage as I sat in a courtroom and watched a huge projection screen fill with image after image of the autopsy of a 30-monthold child that had been beaten and strangled to death.

The prosecution said the child was killed by her mother and mother's boyfriend. After the jury agreed, some said justice had been served. I couldn't help but wish mercy had intervened sooner. And I couldn't help but wonder what could have led to the brutal taking of such a young, precious life.

God equips parents with an uncontrollable instinct to do anything in their power —including sacrificing themselves — to protect children, especially their own.

Even an animal will die to protect its young. But in the case of the child murder, a mother showed less concern for her baby's welfare than a stray dog would for a puppy.

How does that happen, I wonder. Parents aren't perfect, but the worst I know will drop everything, do anything, make any sacrifice to keep their children from harm.

In this case, it didn't happen. Why?

These days, it's fashionable to blame society for every human failing. It's common to say that people commit crimes because the "system" failed them, because there weren't enough programs in place to steer a future robber or killer in the right direction.

Some truly believe even the vilest offender is just one new social program away from turning around his or her life and becoming a model citizen.

The problem isn't new. In the Broadway musical, West Side Story, members of a street gang mockingly tell the local cop that "we're depraved on account of we're deprived."

Sorry, I don't buy it. Excuses are easy. Parenting is hard. But most parents agree the sacrifice, pain and tears are more than worth it.

In the case of the murdered baby, several witnesses said they had seen the child abused publicly over a year before its death but never called the law or reported the incidents to child welfare authorities.

One phone call could have saved that baby's life. Yet no one lifted a finger to summon help for a child that couldn't help itself. "Sad" is too mild a word.

Let's hope we haven't reached the point where such a lack of common concern is mistaken for acceptance.

There's no denying a growing trend toward putting "me" above everything else, toward the notion that personal pleasure comes before anything else, including protecting a baby. As long as that "me first" attitude is accepted, more children will wind up as delinquents or corpses. Either alternative is unacceptable.

Society alone can't teach parents how to raise or protect kids. All society can do is deliver harsh consequences when they don't. Sometimes, it doesn't seem like enough.

Several days ago I watched as a mother convicted of killing her child was sentenced to life in prison. She got off too light.

(Send your e-mail comments to: alex@newnan. com)