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I have always loved "All I Really Need to Know, I Learned in Kindergarten". I think there is a beautiful innocence in the mind of a child, not yet affected by the cynicism of the world or the beliefs of their peers. It is "pure as the driven snow", sweet, loving and kind.
I just had all this reinforced in my mind a few minutes ago while putting Zoe to bed. Our conversation went like this:
"Mommy? Is tomorrow a school day or a stay home day?"
"It's a stay home day."
"But we already stayed home two days, why is tomorrow a stay home day?"
"It's a holiday."
"What holiday?"
"Martin Luther King Day"
"What is 'Martin the King Day'?"
(Remember, she is only five, so I wanted to explain it as simply as possible)
"Well, Martin Luther King Jr was a black person. He tried to make white people be nicer to black people and treat them the same way as other white people. There was a time when white people were not very nice to black people."
"Like, how? They couldn't eat in restaurants?"
(Clearly, they have discussed this at school)
"Exactly. And no matter how tired they were, they weren't allowed to sit down on the bus, they had to stand and let the white people sit. They also were not allowed to drink out of drinking fountains that white people used no matter how thirsty they were."
"That seems really mean."
"Yes, it does, doesn't it? Martin Luther King Jr thought so too and he wanted to pass laws to make sure that black people could do everything that white people could do. But, some people didn't like him and didn't want things to change, so they had him killed. So, we remember him and the things he did on MLK Day because his birthday was in January."
"He died?"
"Yes."
"But the mean stuff doesn't happen anymore?"
"Unfortunately, sometimes it does."
"Wow. That makes me sad."
"Me too, sweetie."
And then, she kissed me goodnight, interjected something random about one of her Barbies and rolled over to go to sleep.
If only all the grownups in the world were as sweet as their children. Then, maybe the world would be a better place. But for now, there is always the HOPE that her opinion never changes and that she carries that conversation and those beliefs into her adulthood.
Hope.
Everything that is done in the world is done by hope. ~Martin Luther
We judge of man's wisdom by his hope. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
