One of the perks of being a child is that the adults are supposed to take care of things. Because my Trophy Husband and I pay the mortgage, buy groceries, prepare meals, shuttle him to school, distribute endless hugs, and so on, my son can focus on the important work of creating art, building elaborate Lego architecture, riding bikes, learning to read, and generally growing into a responsible citizen. He can enjoy the pleasures of childhood because he doesn't have to worry about personal subsistence or about the larger global issues that plague adults. He trusts that we are taking care of things until he is old enough to help.
One thing he does worry about is the safety of our planet. He takes comfort in helping with recycling and loves commuting around town on bikes to avoid consuming gas. He knows that the adults are aware of the dangers, and we're all working to help the earth. He's really upset by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, but again, he thought that the adults were all working really hard to cap the pipe and that next time we won't be so careless. A few days ago he heard a story on NPR about the oil company executives testifying to congress. He was incredulous and outraged:
Little A, "Mama! We have to do something to help!!111!!!"
Me, "What do you think we should do?"
Little A, "We should write a letter to the government with ideas on how to stop the oil flow."
Me, "That's a great idea! Why don't you think of some ideas and I'll help you write a letter as soon as I finish fixing dinner."
My son wandered off and I heard him gathering paper and pencils to draw his ideas. After I put dinner into the oven, I went to offer my help. I found him in tears over the whole mess. He had already written the letter.
Here's the cover letter I wrote for him, which includes a translation of his text. We mailed it two days ago:
Dear Secretary Salazar:
I am writing on behalf of my six-year-old son, [Little Anthropologist], who is very concerned about the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Our family values environmental stewardship and we share a deep love of the natural world. [Little Anthropologist] recently became a Junior Ranger for the first time at the [name redacted] National Monument, and he takes this responsibility very seriously.
[Little Anthropologist] heard on the radio today that the heads of the big oil companies are busy arguing about who is at fault for the terrible events of Deepwater Horizon rather than working together to stop the hemorrhage of oil into the Gulf. He figures that if he can speak respectfully to his baby sister and work with her to solve conflicts, the adults involved in the Deepwater disaster should be able to work together as well.
[Little Anthropologist] has drafted a letter of suggestions for you. He is proud of his printing and asked me to enclose a copy so he can keep the original. It reads:
Dear Government:
These are a variety of ideas to stop the oil flow. They are on the back.
1. Build a robot submarine with remote controlled sensors.
2. Drain out the oil using the latest potato techniques.
3. Blow up the oil pipe with a giant torpedo.
I hope you find [Little Anthropologist's] suggestions helpful. We wish you the best of luck.
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Nikki Stern
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Salon.com
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