Here's what my son just said...

"You shouldn't kill bad guys because then the people who loved the bad guys will turn into bad guys too because they will be so sad that you killed them. If you don't kill bad guys, there will be less bad guys. And if there's a bad guy and nobody loves him, you still shouldn't kill him. You should love him, because it's harder to change into a good guy if nobody loves you."

He will be 5 tomorrow.

I haven't posted here in a while, but I really wanted to stop by and share that.

Have a great weekend everyone.

...but I hope your son will consider a presidential run in 2016.

Loving one's enemies is the harder work, but it's worth doing. :thumbsup:

I may just vote for son! :) :bounce: ;)

:rofl:

I think if he thought about it, he would come up with a public option plan. :)

Maybe your kid is the next Dalai Lama. Or else he's just a great kid. And he had to have got it from somewhere. :loveya: rbnyckid

We have a cousin in Afghanistan. Garrison, my son, asked me why he was there. I said he was there doing work for the government. Grandpa told him he was there killing bad guys. So his statement today comes from a lot of questions, a great variety of answers and a lot of processing. I'm very proud of him. He's smart and he cares about people.

Thanks.

:)

Namaste, Garrison. You are much wiser than your years.


I'm sure you're very proud of him, and with good reason. :hi:

why? cause he is doing so great.

thanks

:thumbsup:

Five years old, and most adults couldn't put out something so heartfelt and honest and so fucking true it just blows my mind.....

And thanks everyone. I am very proud of him. We teach each other things every day.

:)

Give him a big hug. He's one of the "good guys".

...in case any of my old friends are here this morning.

:hi:

Now we're taking Garrison out for his birthday breakfast.

Wish adults could see it

Kids can be pretty damn awesome. :D

The world is not so complex that we cannot simply love on another.

:hi:

This is so well said that I want to keep it as a reminder. Your son's words are not only beautiful and knowing, they are courageous. Remembering you from my newbie days, I am not surprised. :thumbsup:
:hi:

Taking a little internet break before people come over for the birthday party. Glad I did. Thanks so much!

rbnyc, the words of your beautiful child brought tears to my eyes...
You are raising a son whose love of humanity was learned by example...
Thank you so very much for sharing his words of wisdom..
Wishing Garrison a very Happy Birthday.... a joyous day for you and your family...

peace~

Funny, I haven't been here in a while, but when he said that, I knew I had to share it here.

Reinforce it before someone messes him up.

...so that's a good thing. :)

Didn't a wise fellow named Jesus say something similar once? Oh yeah -- "Love your enemies"

I guess universal truths can be plucked right from the universe, if you are listening.

Great to see you. Great to hear of your wise son. :)

when they are kicking your front and back doors in simultaneously while brandishing weapons with the express purpose to murder you?

if you want him to fit in. I suggest starting with an hour in the Iron Maiden, "Just because".

(Good kid, I hope he can hold on to that!)

joking!

you have to let them be kids as long as they are kids. the vileness of the world will be there for them when they grow up.

and probably cannot comprehend the truly horrifying depths of human evil.

makes for a nice glurge post, but it doesn't pan out in the face of a world with child butchers and rapists, genocidal dictators, and ritualistic sex cannibals.

and think they are loveable in any way.

My son and I talk about “stranger danger” and the fact that people do bad things. This is very important for him to understand, but I don’t think that it’s incompatible with “love your enemy.”

While I believe that people have to be careful and I wouldn’t judge anyone for defending themselves against a direct attack, I also believe that a world in which human compassion is paramount is a world which will breed fewer “child butchers and rapists, genocidal dictators, and ritualistic sex cannibals.”

My son has been trying to process what our cousin is doing in Afghanistan. Grandpa said he was “killing bad guys.” My son wanted to know how we know they are the bad guys. My son wanted to know how we know we are the good guys. My son wanted to know if the bad guys think that we are the bad guys and they are the good guys. My son wanted to know if the bad guys had mommies and daddies who would cry if they got killed. My son wanted to know why people choose to do bad things. He asked many people these questions and got a variety of answers and opinions. And he decided, we’re much better off not killing each other and that people have a better chance of evolving if we don’t hate them. I think he’s right, and I’m not worried about him at all.

As for finding child rapists lovable, as a survivor of childhood sexual assault, I know how important it has been for me to have compassion and even forgiveness, not of the deed but of the man, not in a way that removes accountability, but in a way that allows for transformation. Most abusers were abused as children. It is really a type of mental illness and not beneath my capacity to extend love to my fellow human beings and wish better for them.

Would I be able to summon the same compassion for someone who hurt my son? Probably not. But that would be my failing-though an understandable and forgivable failing. I am only human. But striving for the ideal and falling short, I think is preferable to cultivating a worldview of pre-judgments and limitations.

and i believe there is good and evil. and there are transgressions that are unforgiveable.

while i understand a parent would feel wonder at their child's burgeoning moral and ethical growth, i still could never reconcile that with my parsimony as it regards extending love in all circumstances.

Thanks for making this conversation interesting.

:toast:

never heard the term glurge before.

:)

thanks for sharing that.