LH, et al, There is innocence and then there is higher innocence. The first we are born with. Yes, it gets worn down, abused and betrayed. The "Disney" gets rubbed off by the world. We stop believing in fairy tales, we stop trusting, our hides grow thicker and we learn what the real world is really like and we, above most things, protect ourselves and our own.

A higher innocence comes when we recognize that because we may have failed and lost our virginity, our innocence or perhaps had it stripped away from us, we can still hold to the ideals and concepts that are righteous. We can believe in the same and promote the same and encourage others to do the same. To surrender to cynicism and sneer at those who don't does not make for a better world. Jesus said to be as wise as serpents and as harmless as doves. Good words.