Time and again, I was struck by a public attitude toward children I seldom encountered in America: unequivocal support. In America, we socialize our children to see strangers not as helpers but as threats. Virtually every other industrialized nation provides more government aid for their children than America does. Children who are neglected — a loose term inextricably tied to poverty — are thrown into a foster-care system known for its propensity to harm children. From the tumult of the pandemic, the calls for America to care more for its children are getting louder.

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Persons: George Washington, Jesse Zhang, Charlie Shepherd, Shepherd, Richard Nixon, Nixon, Franklin Roosevelt, leery, unironically, Sen, Joe Manchin, Serabi Medina, Serabi, Sandy, —, Lydia Kiesling Organizations: United Nations, hasn't, UN, Senate, National Government, Social Security, Jet, Centers for Disease Control, Business, Child Protective Services, Pediatrics, Black Panthers, National Domestic Workers Alliance, State, Mobility, New York Times Magazine, New Yorker Locations: Greece, America, Sweden, Oregon, Idaho, Athens, Chicago, Sandy Hook , Connecticut, Uvalde , Texas, Portland , Oregon, New Mexico