In an attempt to get a group of kids to eat their vegetables, I told them I would tell them a story if they ate all of their food.
They agreed. And while they ate their vegetables I considered what story I might tell them. Honestly, I was at a loss- what story to tell? Definitely one with adventure, but also one about bravery and standing up for the right thing... I kept pushing my time back a little further, trying to imagine something that a 7 year old boy would love, and could keep the attention of a 3 year old girl. As we cleaned up, the oldest sister was quick to remind me that everyone had eaten their dinner and I owed them a story.
"Okay, let's load up in the car and I'll tell you one on the way." (I still hadn't come up with anything).
As we were heading out, Libby noticed a pendant one of my friends had given me from the Alice Paul Institute.
"What's that?" she asked.
I knew exactly what story I was going to tell. And before I considered whether a three year old could comprehend the Women's suffrage movement, I began to talk about Alice Paul and the struggle for Women's Rights.
First I talked to them about the President. Fortunately, they all knew that he is an important person who leads America. We talked about America's voting process and Sara the youngest proclaimed, "I want to vote!"
"Someday you will!" At this point I wondered if I could really break this story down. Did I open something a little too big for this car of kids headed to eat dessert? But I couldn't just leave them wondering why I was telling them about American democracy.
I started to explain that not long ago women couldn't vote. There were rules that were in place that said only men could decide who the president was. But then a brave group of women decided to speak out against the rule and "protested...err...picketed...um, stood outside the White House with signs in the cold and hot weather demanding to be given the right to vote."
"Did they get in trouble?"
I started to see that this lesson was getting deeper and decided to keep going. They all seemed to be engaged. I love that. They started to see that something was wrong with the story I was telling them and wanted to know why it was. I told them about how the women went to jail and still believed that they could get the right to vote. They never gave up. And Gabriel started to get excited. "We've never had a girl president, but now we can!"
It really is that simple. Human rights can start to seem complicated in our world. We can start to get caught up in the details. I've read where people during the suffrage movement were concerned with how women would vote, or if their emotions would get the best of them. Would they really be reliable? Can we trust them with a ballot? But really it was just the right thing to do.
Breaking it down for kids is really helpful. Really it can break it down for me too. These three weren't concerned with details, Gabriel just wanted to make sure his sisters could be a part of voting and Sara just wanted to know that she could be the president someday. That was a huge example for me and a great challenge to really put it on their level. All they needed to know was that Good wins.
The following night I went to see the documentary Documented. It talked about how an issue can seem so confusing. How there can be so much misinformation surrounding a subject that we forget to look at the root of it. Documented follows Jose Antonio Vargas as he reveals to the world that although he is a famous writer, has worked for several large publications, and won a pulitzer prize- he is an undocumented citizen. While the film talks about the concerns people have with immigration, it also asks the simple question- Do you think all people should be given the opportunity you have?
Sara says, "Yes!"
And it is in holding on to the simplicity of that answer that I can stand.
