By Traci Scott, Faith Reporter
A local author has appealed through an open letter to Oprah Winfrey to continue to include the topic of fighting adolescent bullying. A letter writing campaign has started to get thousands of people to mail the Oprah show their child’s bullying horror stories.
Paul Coughlin is an author from Medford and founder of The Protectors, a faith-based group he established to provide the inspiration and training needed to fight adolescent bullying. He is encouraging the media mogul to continue to spread the word about the detriments of bullying and the need for the faith community to step up to the plate to play a larger role in the ongoing battle.
Coughlin has been an advocate for reducing adolescent bullying in both private and public schools. He has witnessed first-hand the “cruelty and dignity-stripping injustice” of bullying and is driven to inspire others of faith to join in his crusade.
“America’s noble Civil Rights Movement succeeded in part due to three powerful forces: media, legislation, and clergy,” states Coughlin, “Today, America faces a similar Civil Rights battle, not based upon the color of one’s skin, but upon a variety of other differences, commonly an unassertive personality and children who are physically or mentally challenged.”
“On a daily basis, adolescent bullying denies hundreds of thousands of children equal access to a public education and sears their psychological skin, leading to mental disorders that can last into adulthood.”
He adds that “hundreds of children have committed ‘bullycide’—suicide driven by the despair of bullying, and almost every one of America’s school shooters told the Secret Service that their motivation was revenge from being bullied.”
Coughlin notes that the media has proven they are willing to publicize the devastating effects of bullying, and several states have drafted anti-bullying laws; however, the faith community has largely been absent. He is confident that The Protectors is the faith-based response needed to help combat adolescent bullying.
The public school system has called upon people of faith to play a larger role in the battle against bullying, so The Protectors has developed a faith-inspired curriculum that is being used in North America and other countries, including South Africa and Uganda.
“It is usually people of faith who have taken the lead in defending human dignity and value,” states Coughlin, “It is well past time for people of faith to rise up and defend the dignity of hundreds of thousands of children who need an advocate and protector.”
==============
– More Paul Coughlin,
– If you would like to see The Protectors as part of this important programming, please write to:
Producer Ms. Lisa Morin
110 N. Carpenter St
Chicago IL
60607
Disclaimer: Articles featured on Oregon Report are the creation, responsibility and opinion of the authoring individual or organization which is featured at the top of every article.