[Each
of the last few
years, I’ve made
a number of holiday
wishes to the AmericanStudies
Elves, things I’d love to see happen in the coming year. As you might have
always known, the Elves are really all of us—so let’s work to make these and
other great things happen in 2017! I’d love to hear your wishes, and causes or
individuals or projects I can support as well, in comments!]
Three 2017
wishes for and through my two favorite AmericanStudiers and best reasons for
hope:
1)
Consistent Creativity: My older son is one of
the most creative people I know. He’s also obsessed with maps and mazes and
charts, so I can see a future as an architect or engineer for sure. But while
some of his creativity finds its expression in those particular forms, a great
deal of the time he’s just adding his creative perspective to his everyday
world: creating acrostic poems on the required pamphlet for his 4th
grade insect project; adding decorative pictures and details to his Christmas
list; turning his and his brother’s love for football and favorite restaurants
into a newspaper; sharing puns and wordplay he’s thought up during long drives;
writing his own songs to play on the violin; and so much more. Too often, we as
a society treat creativity as an add-on, a neat talent but not a vital skill to
teach and cultivate and celebrate (hence arts programs in our schools being the
first to be cut). But my son reminds me daily of the centrality of creativity
to a life well lived, and I wish him and all of us still more consistent
creativity in the year to come).
2)
Athletic Commitment: It’s going to seem, here,
like I’m defining my older son as the creative one and my younger son (they’re
one grade apart) as the athletic one in some categorical or contrasting way.
It’s definitely nowhere near that simple: my younger son is both whip-smart and
sensitive (and a great budding violinist in his own right), and my older son
loves watching and playing sports as well. But by 10 and 9 years old they
certainly each have their distinct identities, and part of my younger son’s is
the fundamental joy he finds in being on a field, being part of a team, giving
his all in every moment to work toward that individual and collective success.
I’ve always scoffed a bit at the idea of “grinders” in sports, especially at
the level of professional athletics where everyone is blessed with natural talent;
but in my son I’ve seen how someone can combine natural gifts (far more than I
ever had at any sport) with a relentless dedication and drive, and most
importantly how much fun that can produce. That seems like a lesson we can all
learn and apply, well beyond the world of sports, in 2017.
3)
Empathy for All: My boys have that vital
and difficult perspective, really, really genuinely. I’d like to take
credit for how entirely unable they are to understand any and all forms of
bigotry, prejudice, bullying, or hierarchical thinking. But while we certainly talk
a lot about such things, the truth is that I learn as much from those talks
as they do, and always come away inspired and rejuvenated by how naturally they
come to and share this empathetic perspective on the world and their fellow
humans. There are a lot of reasons why my sons give me hope, for 2017 and for
the world, but in many ways they can be boiled down to how easily, how much,
and how powerfully they model empathy. May they continue to do so, and may we
all learn before it’s too late.
Happy holidays
to all! Special end of year series starts Monday,
Ben
PS. So one more
time: what do you think? Wishes or causes you’d share?
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