Hard Questions

As Mr. Laura sat at the table this morning drawing pictures of monsters, he asked me the following question: "Why can't the president of one country meet with the president of another country and do 'Rock, Paper, Scissors' instead of BAM! BAM! Blow People Up?"

This question followed on the heels of a question asked by Mr. Laura earlier in the week. He seemingly out of the blue asked "Are there really many good reasons to join the army?" Apparently this question was prompted by an ad on the radio declaring that yes, in fact, there are many good reasons to join the army. I guess the ad had not quite convinced him so he was checking with me.

Both of these questions reminded me of a question Mr. Laura asked me a couple of years ago. We had just received our adoption referral for Mr. Garvey, Mary and Miss Almanzo. We were discussing some of the more difficult aspects of why some children no longer have parents and need to be adopted. We talked about Ethiopia being a poor country and what that means like the fact that many Ethiopians don't have enough food to eat on a daily basis nor do they have access to medicine or health care like folks do in wealthier countries such as the United States. To which he asked, "If we have these things and they really need them, why doesn't our country share with their country so children don't have to lose their moms and dads?"

How does one articulate the complexities of these issues to a 5 and 6 year old? How does one explain that the motives behind a person's or a nation's actions do not always arise from a desire to "do the right thing" like sharing, solving disputes peaceably, or respecting the sacredness and dignity of life in all its many forms and colors? How does one explain that it is more likely that a person's or a nation's actions is based on fear and prejudice or on acquiring and maintaining money, power, or control over limited natural resources? Instead of even attempting to explain most of this, I am opting to encourage the act of the questioning itself. There will be plenty of time in the years to come, when Mr. Laura is more mature, to delve into the not-so-easy answers to these hard questions. For now I'll help him develop this habit of questioning. The answers and solutions to the big issues of our times will never materialize if we, as a citizenry, adopt a "that's just the way things are" attitude instead of realizing we have the right and the duty to challenge the status quo, the "powers-that-be", and the hypocrisy (our own and that of others) of our times.