Dear Kid
OPINION —
Dear Kid,
Don’t grow up. Don’t turn into an adult. That’s my advice. Resist adulthood. Be a kid forever.
Right now, a lot of adults are angry in America. To be fair, we have a lot to be angry about. But adults can behave badly when they are angry. So please forgive us.
Because the truth is —and I shouldn’t be telling you this — adults can be pretty stupid.
Don’t misunderstand. I don’t mean we’re “stupid” in a negative sense. Truly, I don’t. After all, just because someone is stupid doesn’t mean you can’t love them. Take dogs. Dogs can be very unsmart, but we still love them. Hallmark Channel movies can be ingloriously stupid, but they are also wonderful.
Still, this doesn’t change the fact that we adult humans are, in fact, giant dipsticks. The problem is, of course, that we adults think we are brilliant.
Oh, sure, our species occasionally does some brilliant things. Beer is only one example. Humankind has also, for instance, learned to manufacture smartphones with touchscreens capable of flushing our toilets from outer space.
But this doesn’t make us smart. Because we still don’t know how to listen. We don’t empathize. And even though our parents taught us, we still don’t know how to share.
You know what we DO know how to do?
We know how to kill each other. Again, I’m not being pessimistic. This is just a fact. We are among the only mammals who kill one another.
Tigers do not kill tigers. Squirrels don’t kill squirrels. When was the last time you saw cows killing each other?
But look at history. The Punic Wars in (164 B.C.), 2 million killed. The Jewish-Roman Wars, (66 A.D.) another 2 million. The Crusades (1095-1229) 3 million.
The Mongol Invasions, 40 million. The Conquests of Timur, 20 million. Spanish Conquest of the Aztec Empire, 2.5 million. Spanish Conquest of the Incan Empire, 8.5 million.
The American Civil War, 1 million. World War I, 40 million. World War II, 85 million. Vietnam War, 4 million.
I don’t mean to disturb you, I simply bring this up because I want you to know where you fit in to all this.
Because you see, you’re not like us. At least not yet. You were born into this wonderful world with a clean slate. You’re a kid.
You are oblivious to our adult fussing and our adult need to be right. Your entire kid philosophy is “Let’s have fun!” That’s it. That’s how you see this world.
Every morning you wake up and you look for the party. For you, every day carries the possibility of magic, music, art, friends, and bladder-compromising laughter.
There are no taboos in your world. No villains. You forgive easily. You love fiercely. And even the things you hate, you LOVE hating those things.
You are perpetually excited, rarely disappointed, hopeful to a fault, miraculously naïve, way too trusting, and you believe in God without even trying.
And someday when I grow up, I hope to be just like you.
Sean Dietrich is a columnist, novelist and stand-up storyteller known for his commentary on life in the American South. His column appears in newspapers throughout the U.S. He has authored 15 books.
