I was at my son’s school this past Friday. All of the parents had been invited to attend a small celebration commemorating one year of the students having the ability to write. For the occasion, each child had “published” a book on a topic of individual choice. It was wonderful to see these excited small children and the progress they have made. My son wrote a “how to” book that explained the game of checkers, with the kind of illustrations that only a young child can do. (The boy sitting next to the boran2 boy wrote a book explaining how to shoot a gun!)
And with these new skills, my son has taken an interest in the things that shape the society in which he lives.
Now that he is reading and writing, my son has become increasingly aware of the world around him. Lately he has been asking pointed questions about a variety of things. And accordingly, my answers have been getting more detailed. Sometimes his questions address the workings of our government.
Given our recent history, he’s already well aware of how I feel about President Bush. In fact he can’t look at a photo of our leader without making some snarky remark. And 7 year old snark is fascinating, and very funny. But isn’t this a rather sad turn of events? No, don’t get me wrong. I’m glad to see that, due to my, umm, careful guidance, he doesn’t automatically accept the actions of our leaders. But, frankly, I couldn’t imagine tossing snark the president’s way when I was 7 years old. Of course, scandals were somewhat simpler then. Ahh, the good old days.
But now I have a question. How do I explain to an inquisitive 7 year old boy that our government functions in ways not envisioned by the founders? How do I explain to him that the system he will be learning about has been carefully undermined and/or circumvented?
How do I explain to him that we are currently engaged in a war that was brought about by lies from the highest levels of government?
How do I explain to him that our government has kept prisoners locked up for years without acknowledging to their identities? (until this week)
How do I explain to him that our government has initiated the torture that some of these prisoners have received?
How do I explain to him that our government has been spying on ordinary citizens and that it seeks to continue to shroud this in secrecy?
How do I explain to him that our government seeks to roll back long-standing environmental protections and safeguards?
How do I explain to him that our government has taken away certain bankruptcy protections.
How do I explain to him that our government seeks to take away long-standing food labelling protections?
How do I explain to him that our government has ignored certain scientific research and, at least until recently, denied global warming?
How do I explain to him that our government often functions as little more than a mechanism for serving the interests of big business and the rich? That our government is/has become a conduit for special interests with sufficient funds to “buy” legislators and thereby achieve their goals. That the needs of the many have been overtaken by the interests of the few.
How do I explain to him that our government does not care about his best interests?
How?
