If you’re reading this Donald Trump, please refer to The Big Friendly Giant. You might learn something.
Remember when you were in primary school and calling someone a mean name was the worst thing you’d ever done? You knew it was wrong because it hurt their feelings.
Isn’t it strange that we learn empathy as children, yet as adults we are so quick to divide people and dismiss them as lesser than us because they are different in creed, colour, sexuality or gender?
The flippant manner with which the world’s most influential voices routinely ignore and belittle issues of the utmost importance has set in motion a disturbing climate of inaction and passivity to the cruelties of the world. Meanwhile, if you were to ask a 7 year old if what to do when they see someone being hurt, they might say something along the lines of ‘tell someone’, ‘do something’ or ‘be their friend’. You learn to be pretty kind as a kid.
We have looked back on 5 life lessons we learnt from children’s books that today’s divided world could do with remembering, in the hope that they jog some memories in a few forgetful minds…
1. The BFG We learnt from from a big friendly giant that difference does not equate to malcontent, and people, regardless of shape or size (or race, gender, or sexuality) from varying walks of life, can be the best of friends. Yet instead we are faced with this: Donald Trump’s views of Mexican people and his plans if he ever became President of the United States, including building a wall along the Mexican border:
2. The Twits Roald Dahl’s creepy classic teaches us that vindictive behaviour will not go unchallenged and the under-dogs will and should fight back against their oppressors. Yet these people are doing just that with insufficient support and recognition from leaders and organisations:
3. The Little Prince As the Little Prince says, “sometimes adults are very disappointing”. And grossly unprofessional. And classist. And unsupportive of the younger generation. And ignorant of the basic needs demanded by women’s bodies. All of this is encompassed in this video of David Cameron’s repeated refusal to answer Jeremy Corbyn’s questions about tax credit cuts:
4. Green Eggs and Ham Dr Seuss’ tale teaches us that just because something is familiar, it doesn’t mean it is preferable to the alternative. If you are ignorant to an alternative, you’ll never figure this out. Take a look at Laura Bates’ explanation of the origins her website everydaysexism.com to see this in action:
5. The Wizard of Oz Oz taught us that there’s no place like home. If a few decent people support you in your time of need, without ostracizing you for circumstances completely outside of your control, you might just find your way back there one day. But what do we as a nation really think about homing refugees?
Perhaps this article is idealist or naïve, or maybe many key figures in our world have forgotten that they were once children and that humanity costs nothing. Whatever conclusion you come to, this article is intended as food for thought. If you would like to hear more about the movements and issues discussed, please refer to the following websites:
Edited by Tia Ralhan
Image sources:
https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/308707749428379064/
https://dtsft.wordpress.com/tag/the-twits/
https://leedsbookclub.files.wordpress.com