We’ve all seen toddlers play. One has a toy, one wants a toy, and we all know exactly what happens next.
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Inducing kids to share can be almost impossible, and that’s not necessarily their fault. Developmentally, young children just don’t understand that other people have a complete consciousness just like their own, with their own wants, needs and aspirations. Children do gradually develop this though.
In growing to adulthood, we all learn to put ourselves in the place of others. We learn to see the world from eyes that have had different life experiences to ours, have studied or learned about different fields, or come from different places, cultures or traditions.
In other words, we learn others have a lot to offer.
We learn that we can gain useful perspective from listening and understanding those who we don’t agree with, even if we still don’t agree with them after listening. Or we should.
If a stranger came to town, what would he or she see right now? They might perceive Braidwood as a town filled with people who will not listen to others, who will not think about the needs of others, and who are convinced that they and those they agree with should be the arbiters of all decisions regarding the town.
If your family has been in town since the year dot, if you grew up here, if you raised a family here, you probably have a strong emotional attachment to Braidwood; and caring about the town is good. Braidwood has an extraordinarily strong community and is sustained by people’s love for the place.
However, an strong emotional attachment to a place does not mean you can, or should, control it. A mindset like that fosters division. If we feel we own the town, and so control its future, there will inevitably be conflict, because lots of people feel like that.
And that’s exactly what’s happened. Adults in the town have let their agendas, their egos and their history get in the way of new amenity for the town. Who has gotten lost in the mess? It’s the children.
Braidwood’s children and teenagers have consistently behaved better than those in both camps of the skate park malarkey. They have put their case clearly, respectfully, and shown they understand the nuances of other people’s opinions.
So, let’s take a lesson from them. Let’s take a few deep breaths, put down our keyboards, maybe laugh awkwardly when we meet those we’ve abused, then let’s pull together to figure out a way forward.