When William James spoke those words, he wasn't speaking with the idea that we should declare "war" on poverty, drugs, terrorism, Christina Aguilera's sense of style, and every other evil in the world. No, he was suggesting that what we need is to take the moral energy and outrage that we spend on war and expend that in the service of other causes. Here's a good example of some ways we could do that.

We Have the Will for War, But Neglect Our Children: "'Yet, we will do what is necessary, we will spend what is necessary, to achieve this essential victory in the war on terror, to promote freedom and to make our own nation more secure.'

We will spend what is necessary. President Bush's words of Sept. 7, 2003, are still echoing in my head.

If only the same could be said of the work that needs to be done here at home. Let me explain a few things. I am an Air Force brat. I support the military. My father did two tours in Vietnam, was decorated for valor and came home still accepting that we must sometimes fight for what we believe in.

I am also a child advocate. For 11 years I have been educating on the pitfalls of poverty, teen motherhood, infant death and the importance of early childhood education. I have argued for increasing the budget for Head Start, for money to provide health insurance to the children of this country, for increases in state budgets to allow more child protection service workers to be hired, and much more.

I can't even count the number of times concerned citizens, professional advocates, and worried parents have been told, 'We understand, we would love to help, but we just do not have the money.'

What a different world we would live in if our leaders in Washington were ever to say:

'We will spend what is necessary to provide health insurance to all children in America.'

'We will spend what is necessary to provide quality child care for working parents.'

'We will spend what is necessary to provide dental care for the elderly.'

'We will spend what is necessary to provide the work supports that low-income working families need to succeed.'

If we could hear, 'We will spend what is necessary for the children of this country,' not just in a campaign speech that is soon forgotten, but on the floor of the House and the Senate when appropriating dollars for programs that affect our children, what a different world this would be. "