Listen to the children
My niece in Ohio recently sent me a letter in which she related an event that went on between a mother and her 5-year-old daughter. Mommy and a friend were discussing the Declaration of Independence around the Fourth of July. Daughter was all ears and asked her mother as follows:
Daughter: What’s the Declaration of Independence?
Mommy: It’s a paper Americans wrote to tell the British we didn’t want to be ruled by them anymore.
Daughter: What did it say?
Mommy: Well, it said that men should be free and they should be able to make their own decisions and be happy in life.
Daughter: Umm, is there one of those things for women?
Isn’t it wonderful that a mere child can perceive injustice in our society and, at the same time, offer a way to correct it?
Oh, that means grownups, especially men, should/could be as smart as some youngsters among us!
Bob Bealer, State College
This story was originally published November 30, 2016 at 12:33 AM with the headline "Listen to the children."