I truly believe that children are the essence of innocence. I believe that we could all be truly innocent, except that there is evil in the world, and as we are exposed to evil, we trade in our innocence for what we believe to be understanding.
But all babies are born perfectly innocent, and it is only the world around them that corrupts them. Some children are innocent for a lot longer than others, based upon their environments.
I witnessed a beautiful example of this pure-hearted innocence today, that warmed me to my core.
I live on a very residential street near a few elementary schools, so there are frequently children all over my block. There's one little girl who lives right next door, and two who live across the street that are almost always playing outside together. I think their parents might forbid crossing the street without an adult, because they usually stand on opposite sides and yell things at eachother.
As I got out of my car today, I noticed one of the girls across the street was holding a doll that looked distinctly African American. I thought this was really cool. Since all three girls are white, I admire their parents for that doll choice.
The girl on my side of the street yelled, "Is that doll black?" The question surprised me, but not really. Children see things in very solid, unchanging ways. What really suprised me was the answer.
A hesitant, "No..."
Now I had to see what they said next. The first girl said, "Well what color is it?"
"Skin color."
Isn't that all you need to know? We are all skin color.
Those two words floored me. That children see things so innocently, so perfectly. They only know what the world around them teaches them, and if they are taught, 'This is skin color, and so is this, and this', then what more matters?
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