and they killed many indians.
mom,she said
can i cross that out?
she was troubled. deeply troubled. this was the first time this realization has hit her this way. when i told her dad about it, he said
i've talked to her about it before.
but there she sat, furrowed brow, waiting for permission to strike through the truth.
sure baby, it doesn't change the fact that it is true though.
i know. i'll erase it when i am finished reading.
how does one convey the truth of history to children? disney glosses over many details making the stories "fun" in a sense, this is for marketability i'm sure. being uninclined toward marketability, i find the messy truth something we must work through.
i've bypassed difficulties my entire life because i never learned how to go through the pain. to experience it. to glean wisdom and compassion from it.
but seeing the pained expression on my dear child is not something i know how to deal with. and we've only just begun. she's doesn't even know about the blankets, the wars, the massacres. what then?
where do i find the words and wisdom for dealing with this?
in the jewish tradition, they retell the stories of their past ceremonially, yearly. tasting the bitter herbs.
i guess it is time for us to find some parallel tradition for our stories.
No comments:
Post a Comment