Bedtime Discussion

Trying to give Madeleine some lessons in respect and tolerance and societal structures tonight at bedtime.

MADELEINE: Mommy.  Did you EVER notice that people from China and people from Japan BOTH have flat faces?
ME: Well, a flatter face structure is a common physical feature in more places than that.  A lot of Eastern Europeans have flatter facial features, like people from Russia, or Poland, or-
MADELEINE: But a girl in my class is Russian and SHE has a really round and LUMPY face.
ME: Well, not everyone is going to have that same feature.  It's just more common.  It's-
MADELEINE: Mommy.  Do you know what I do NOT like?
ME: What?
MADELEINE: When people are out in PUBLIC, say, at the Y, for example, and they're talking in a different language that's NOT English.
ME: Well, when two people both speak the same language as their first language, they're going to be most comfortable speaking in that language together.
MADELEINE: No, but I mean people who KNOW how to speak English.
ME: Think about it.  If you and I were in a foreign country, and we were out in public, wouldn't you speak to me in your own language, rather than the language of that country?
MADELEINE: Like speak Korean?  No way. I'd speak ENGLISH.
ME: No, but, you're learning Spanish in school.  If we were in a Spanish speaking place, would you try to talk to me in Spanish, or would you speak in English?
MADELEINE: Mommy?  A lot of people think of SPAIN as being the place where you speak Spanish, but I always think of Mexico and New Mexico.  And Mommy?  Someone at school said people speak Spanish in Florida.
ME: Yeah, there are lots of Spanish speakers in Florida.  A lot of people who live in Florida come from a nearby island called Cuba.
MADELEINE: Cuba?!?

I then launched into what I thought was a very educational speech about Cuba being a Communist country, and explained that although the Communist ideal is well-intentioned, it has proven in reality not to work as well as other forms of government. I explained about Socialism and Capitalism, then gave examples of countries with those types of structures.

ME: So, the United States is a Capitalist country, and in a lot of ways that's great, because people have a reason to try and push themselves to gain more money and more opportunities, but because we don't really have a base to start off on that you can live at, there's also a lot of poverty.
MADELEINE: You mean it's like the VICTORIAN AGES?
ME: Uh...no.  So, the idea in a Capitalist society is that anyone can build a life of success and wealth by working hard, but the problem is that not everybody starts from a place where that's possible.  Some children don't get to go to school or live in a home because their parents aren't able to afford that.
MADELEINE: Okay, but Mommy.  I have ONE question for you.  Do you think snakes, or at least ONE snake, got into the Great Pyramid of Giza?


Okay.  Seeing as we were basically on ENTIRELY different planets throughout the WHOLE bedtime discussion, I decided to put my Benevolent Teacher of Society hat by the side of the bed and bid her sweet dreams.