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The Flu and other Contagious Things




The whole family, including you, have been pretty sick with the flu for the last week or so, so that’s put a damper on our regular adventures.

We did manage to go grocery, thrift, and book store shopping over the course of the last two days, which was nice.

At home, we’re trying to mix in new media content into your usual routine: soul and blues music is mixed in with the sleep sounds playlists, and nature documentaries and an awesome historical drama about MLK and Malcom X are interspersed in between cartoons and Disney movies.

The MLK/X show lead to an interesting conversation your mom and I had about the ways humans learn to hate. She told me about a neighbor of ours who posted in a Facebook group that their young son was racist towards a black peer, which confused them because that was not behavior they were demonstrating in any way at home.

My theory -take it with a grain of salt- is that it’s not enough to just not be racist to teach acceptance. You have to be exposed to different cultures and ideas and peoples to understand how unique and special and diverse we all are.

We are in a bit of a bubble; while New Braunfels offers some amazing opportunities for you growing up —you see deer quite regularly, and the parks are amazing—, but the area isn’t nearly as diverse as a major city. 

We do have the benefit of having family spread all over the state, and we are going to make a more concerted effort to take you to these places to expand your horizons.

It’s important to us that you don’t grow up to hate.

You’re such a sweet boy with such a big heart, and I don’t want that to ever change.

We also talked about the public education system and the ways in which it whitewashes our history to avoid uncomfortable truths and propagate division and stereotypes. A prime example of that is the fact that both your mother and I didn’t learn about Malcolm X until we independently read his autobiography after we finished school.

Unfortunately, it seems this kind of whitewashing is getting more acceptable and prevalent, especially here in Texas.

It’s going to be up to us to help ensure that you have a solid understanding of these topics and our history, so you can best help make the world the kind of place that deserves someone as wonderful as you.

I bought us a copy of Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States to shuffle in with our normal bedtime reading.

This is probably a heavy topic for a baby blog, but these are the kinds of things your mom and I talk (and worry) about sometimes, so it’s part of your story as well.

We just love you so much, and wish for your life to be defined by love and light and peace and happiness.

You are worth changing the world for.

-Your Dad, Kerry

 

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