Are the Lives Of Women and Children Worth More Than a Man's?

I was driving to work this morning and I heard this lady on the radio talking about the discovery of mass graves in Iraq. "...believe there may be up to 3,000 bodies...including the remains of women and children." This is one of my pet peeves. Whenever there is a tradgedy, why does the media make a point of mentioning women or especially children are killed?

I have a problem with the notion that somehow the lives of children in particular are worth more than anyone else's. Sure, everyone loves kids; they're cute and cuddly, and people who have them usually guard them with their lives. However, if you want to take a real, unbiased look at the value of children in society, I would say that the life of a child is not worth more than an adult's. Before you flame me, let me make my argument. I like to make the "desert island" argument. If you were on an island, and you knew help wasn't coming, who would you rather have with you? A child, with no appreciable survival skills, or an adult who can take care of themselves? Would you rather have a child who may be more of a physical and emotional burden, or an adult that can pull their own weight and actually be able to help you get out of the situation. I would rather have an adult. But, life isn't a desert island, I understand. However, I believe that adults are more valuable to Present Day society than children. Children do not go to work and bring home the bacon, they don't bust their ass so that their family can survive, a child has never invented anything worthwhile to society. Adults make all worthwhile contributions to society. The value of children lies in their potential for the future, and what they will do when they become ADULTS. What children "might" do, or what they "could" do is more important than any tangible contribution they make to society at present time. I understand this. But, time waits for no man. And I doubt that if you're starving, destitute, or in some other horrible situation, you're sitting around thinking about what your child could do for you 15-20 years from present, when you need help now. In Summary: I'm not saying that children's lives are worth less than an adult's. I'm just saying that they're not worth more than anyone else's. Making sure that the Present is taken care of is just as important as taking care of the future.