Maria Arpa
So a group called Momentum Kids is asking young children to imagine what political party their teddy bear would join. The website reads:
“Bring your favourite toy to the workshop where we will imagine the party it might join and lead, and what it stands for. What is your toy’s mandate, what are the positives that would make your toy a great leader? The children will make signs and banners and stage a mock protest.”
This reminds me of George Orwell’s children in 1984- a generation enraged into constant militancy against eternal enemies, programmed into the politics of ‘the party’, hypnotised by images, inoculated against reason, stripped of family, and existing to serve the cause.
I notice a sense of outrage at the idea that we want to burden children with politics and protesting. Forgive me if this is a rant, but in the inner city areas of poverty that I work in, people who protest can and often do end up criminalised (in the USA they get shot). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yEm87vZ82E . I had the pleasure of Training Sgt Shamar Thomas in the Dialogue Road Map.
So here is our imaginary ‘Centre for Peaceful Solutions Kids’ Centre based on the Dialogue Road Map
“Bring your favourite toy to our play day where we will create a world full of sharing and cooperation. We’ll learn about giving and receiving, and understanding the impact of our words and actions on ourselves and the world around us. We’ll laugh, sing, jump for joy and make things and let you be kids. We’ll invite your parents to understand what an amazing human being you are (and they are too) and together we’ll imagine the peace we long for and remember what a fabulous planet we live on”
Which one would you send your kids to?
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If you enjoy reading this blog, please consider making a donation to the Centre for Peaceful Solutions. If you think someone else would enjoy reading this blog post, please share it.