I’ve been thinking a lot lately about raising children. I want them to be respectful citizens, not only of the United States, but of the World. The benefit of this being that they have a sense of connection to others, and think of the impact their actions have on others. Of course there are other benefits too, but I think this is the biggest aspect I want my kids to understand. So how do you raise global citizens while their physical reality is of a relatively small part of the world?
Another issue is the issue of history. I want my children to respect and understand (as best they can) the sacrifices of the many types of warriors who have fought for the freedoms they enjoy. This includes military veterans and civil rights activists. But I also want them to understand that the old ways of gaining things by force or confrontation are not the only ways, or even the best ways. However, in context things worked out the way they worked out based on what we knew at the time.
Now, my kids will definitely grow up knowing about the Marine Corps. They’ll also grow up learning history of all kinds, hopefully teaching them to try to see the big picture when they learn about the past. I just hope I can guide them to being openminded. Maybe by the time that comes around I’ll have an idea to do that.
This all came up because I was thinking that it would be cool to have flags at the house. At first I thought just a Marine Corps flag, but that felt a little odd to not have a US flag. But I don’t want my kids to feel like the US is better than anyone else, or that US citizens are more important than citizens anywhere else. Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a world flag? There probably is, actually, I’ve just never seen it. Or I’ll just make one. But something that signifies being a world citizen, not just a citizen of a country or state or city.
I think too much sometimes. lol
