There is a collective sigh of guilt when an Israeli says these days, "What a beautiful day, what gorgeous weather." Israel desperately needs the rain, and yet how can you not take your child to the zoo for the afternoon, the sunshine practically begs you to spend the day outside.
For the first time since I got my zoo membership, I did not get lost, but rather took the correct road at the first try, and even found a short cut. The G-d of Parking was good to me, I could not have happened upon a better spot, as close to the front gate as possible. Because Raphaela and I arrived in the early afternoon, we did not have to fight any crowds, and we explored parts of the zoo we had never see before. At various points I parked her stroller in the shade, and we enjoyed the picnic I had packed for us.
Raphaela, G-d bless her, offered every animal some of her food. She also made friends with every other child she saw, the majority of whom were Arab. One five year old girl had a camera and was attempting to take a picture of the napping tiger, and Raphaela pulled on her sleeve and posed, "I am ready for my close-up, Mr. Demille."
This only reinforces my claim, that no child is born with bias, it is the parents who instill values; I maintain that the children are the key to the future of the Middle East.
Bonus points for today's outing: because she did not nap all afternoon, she barely made a fuss when I tucked her into bed tonight. I may even have a quiet night to myself.
3 comments:
sounds like a terrific day from you both. your comments "that no child is born with bias, it is the parents who instill values" sounds like the song from south pacific --You've Got to be Carefully Taught
You've got to be taught
To hate and fear,
You've got to be taught
From year to year,
It's got to be drummed
In your dear little ear
You've got to be carefully taught.
You've got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made,
And people whose skin is a diff'rent shade,
You've got to be carefully taught.
You've got to be taught before it's too late,
Before you are six or seven or eight,
To hate all the people your relatives hate,
You've got to be carefully taught!
I am admittedly very upset right now over a heated conversation that just took place, and I don't know where else to release that steam. I’m sure I’ll step on some toes in the process. I usually do. Frankly, I don’t care this time. Dads need to stop leaving their kids, and I’m tired of men not being the ones to say it. I’m tired of the world tip-toeing around these guys’ feelings. I’m really tired of society acting like such behavior is now “normal” or “expected”. I’m tired of the media making light of it. I'm tired of the emails and comments from endless mothers who've been thrown under the bus. More than anything, I’m tired of dads not taking their responsibilities and duties seriously.
Proud to be a Single Dad
Jazzie, You are obviously upset, and I am glad you had a place to release. It's true, society is more forgiving of fathers who shirk their responsibilities, but guess what, women leave their families too. It comes not down to gender but to the issue of being a parent, you bring a child into the world, and you inherently accept all the stuff that goes along with that.
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