Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president of the Children's Defense Fund, spoke Nov. 20 in the Center for the Arts Mainstage theater in the first presentation of this year's Distinguished Speakers Series.

We all are living in an incredible moment in history, said Edelman. But how are we going to measure progress over the next 100 years or next 1,000 years, if humankind lasts that long?

"The answer lies in what you and I stand for and the decisions and actions that each of us takes today," she said.

A thousand years ago, the United States wasn't even a dream, and another 1,000 years from now "will humankind and civilization remain? Will the United States deserve to be remembered?" she asked.

"Is the American dream big enough for every fifth child who is poor, every sixth child who is black, every seventh child who is Latino and every eighth child who is mentally or physically challenged? Are we big enough to become healing agents?

"I hope so," she added, "because I believe protecting children is moral testament to our humanity and our overarching moral challenge."

In the past decade, 2.5 million children have been killed, 4.5 million disabled, 12 million left homeless, 1 million have been orphaned or separated from parents and some 10 million have been traumatized by armed conflict throughout the world.

"Ninety percent of the victims of war are women and children and civilians," Edelman said. "How much child suffering is it going to take for us to stand up and say, 'enough?'"

She noted that in the U.S.-one of the richest nations in the world-every two minutes a child is reported abused or neglected, every 20 minutes a child gives birth to a baby, every 25 minutes a child of low birth weight is born, and every day a child is killed.

"What in the world has happened to us that the killing of children has become routine?" Edelman asked.

"I wish every one of our children could believe in parents and teachers and preachers and neighbors and leaders to protect and provide them with safe passage to adulthood."

Children would feel much more valued if they saw us taking steps to protect them, if we were making decisions that would make it easier, rather than harder, for children to grow up healthy and educated, according to Edelman.

"I hope we can begin making progress by focusing on our children. I hope we can reaffirm what is important," she said.

"So many of our children are confused because so many adults talk right and do wrong. We don't have a child problem. We have an adult problem."

Edelman exhorted her audience to be involved, not only in the lives of their own children, but those of other children.

"We all need to reach out to at least one child not our own," and make a difference in that child's life, she said. "Volunteerism is so important and figuring out how each of us can make a difference is so important."

As a society, Edelman said, we have a long way to go toward supporting children adequately.

There need to be places for children in every community that are "positive alternatives to the street," she said. Workplaces need to be more "family-friendly" so that parents can visit their children's schools and take care of their health needs, including their health-insurance needs. Child care needs to be not only adequate, but good.

"Let's look at institutions and see how we can help children and parents," Edelman said.

We need to examine ourselves and our nation and "stop scapegoating children," she said. "Change will occur only if we all speak up."