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On February 14th, 2001, Mr. Michael Jackson's foundation, Heal the Kids, held a forum at Carnegie Hall entitled, "Love, Work, and Parenting: Can you be a success in the Bedroom, the Boardroom, and the Family Room?" The Heal the Kids foundation is devoted to developing the parental-child relationship which many feel is at a great loss in today's society. The purpose of the foundation is to remind parents that their children need as much love and support as they can give, and that they become an intricate and active part of their child's life. Heal the Kids stresses the importance of opening the lines of communication within the family in order to create a loving environment within the home, which will, in turn, lead to a nurturing and caring community in the outside world. The Valentine's Day panel included foundation founder Michael Jackson, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, Dr. Stanley Greenspan, Mr. Johnnie Cochran, Ms. Mother Love, Dr. Drew Pinsky, Ms. Judith Regan, and Mr. Marc Walberg. The first speaker of the night was reknowned author and lecturer Rabbi Boteach, president of the Heal the Kids Foundation. Rabbi Shmuley spoke of challenging the universal problem: the family. He stressed the necessity of bringing husbands and wives together, because they are at the heart of the disintegration of the fabric of the family unit. He presented a thought-provoking idea as well. With the ten commandments, God demanded humans listen to authority and a number of laws, and Shmuley noticed that no one would have thought that loving one's child was not included among loving thy neighbor and respecting thy mother and father. "Who would have thought," the rabbi preached, "that he would have to command something seemingly natural and instinctive." He spoke of the effects this lack of affection has on today's younger generation, causing them to sink into an abyss of insecurity, when every child should feel as special as a superstar. In his final words, he told the audience that in his own life, as a father of six, he wants his children to remember him as an ever-present family member at the dinner table, as a father who stood by his family like a rock, and as a father whose children were the center of his life. Next, the ultra-famous musical star Michael Jackson emerged to give his own introduction to the night's panel. As Mr. Jackson approached the microphone, there were numerous screams from the audience, confessing their love for him, and Mr. Jackson covered his face, and paced in small circles, presumably trying to refrain from crying. He seemed quite touched as the audience ran to the front of the stage, seeming as though he would begin to cry. As the room quieted and fans returned to their seats, he noted that the night's event was not to hear the popular music that he is known for around the globe, but to hear a loftier melody, an internal song straight from the strings of the heart, the beating of the heart's chamber, and of flesh and blood. "This," he said, "is the sweet sound of love." |
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