A Wish for the Future

While on my way to work today, I was sitting at a stoplight, and I watched an old woman cross the street with her grandson's hand in hers. He was flailing his arms about, taking in the world around him, naive to the danger which surrounded him, while his grandmother chided him and walked him to the other side of the street, to saftey. He was a small human being, with no knowledge of the ills of the world or the mandates of society and social standing. He was, ideally, what philsophers refer to as tabula rasa, or "blank slate".

All children are tabulae rasae, entering the world with no preconceived mental constructs about anything. No racism, no hatred, no maliciousness. All of that is learned. And as I saw the little boy cross the street, I wondered, "What kind of man will he grow up to be?" Will he commit hate crimes? Will he stand by while they happen? Will he think women are his equals? Will he destroy life in the name of war?

Every child, no matter what race, color, creed, gender, or sexual orientation is a wish for the future. How we raise our children, as a society, directly affects our own dreams for not only our children's futures, but our own visions of what is ideal as well. How we act, how we think, and what we say are all subject to examination for our little tabulae rasae. And it pains me to imagine that, at this moment, some people are telling racist jokes to our "blank slates".