Yesterday was an interesting day in which I had an important conversation with my 7 year old grandson Sean, pictured here with his five year old sister, Grace.
His mom and dad are enthusiastic supporters of Obama, and when mom drives the kids anywhere they count Obama and McCain signs. In their particular liberal area, Obama is winning 85 to 20. Mirroring their parents, the kids are enthusiastic about Obama. Yesterday Sean asked why anyone would support McCain. This was an important teaching opportunity, so after discussing it with my daughter, I had a little conversation with Sean.
I reminded him of what his mother had already told him, that different people look for different things in a president. I told him that some people think Obama is too young, or doesn't have enough experience. I told him that some people like Obama's ideas and others like McCain's. But then I went to the race issue, something which had never occurred to my grandson, who goes to school with children of all races and nationalities.
I told him simply that some people would not vote for Obama because of his dark skin.
He looked at me like I was crazy and asked why anyone would do that.
I gave him a brief history lesson, told him about the settlement of America, and the kidnapping and enslavement of Africans in the early years of our country. Then I told him about the Civil War, and about segregation, in simple ways he could understand, though he still found it hard to comprehend how people could act this way. I told him I found it hard to understand too.
He was full of questions. Whey did the white people do that? Why did they think the dark-skinned people weren't human? Weren't there some good white people who didn't do this and who told the other white people it was wrong? Why didn't the slaves run away? Didn't anybody help them? And then with a look of horror he asked "Do people still kidnap people and make them slaves today?
I answered each of these questions as honestly and simply as I could, but I realized as I gave him the answers how hollow they sounded, how utterly inadequate. Because there is nothing - NOTHING - that can explain to a seven year old how it is that one group of people thought another group of people property to be bought and sold, whipped and chained and even killed.
Like most seven year old boys, Sean has a rich fantasy life, some of it reinforced by movies. He loves Harry Potter and Star Wars and Indiana Jones. Each of these dramas are rich with the fantastic and the unbelievable. Sean has no trouble suspending disbelief when he watches the movies or acts them out with friends on the playground.
What he does have trouble believing is that an adult might not vote for Barack Obama because of the color of his skin. That is simply beyond his ability to comprehend.
