Two weeks ago, my son and I watched the reports on CNN concerning Somalia together. Afterwards, we had dinner and my eight year old prayed for the children who don’t have food and gave thanks for his own food. This is pretty normal in our house, so that isn’t the part I remember many days later. What I remember is his question during dinner moreso than the prayer before we ate.

“Dad, why is all the news about America, when there are so many other people and so many other countries in the world?”

He’s got a point. Why are we at the center of the world? And if we’re not, then why do we act like we are? Now, don’t misunderstand me, this isn’t a rant that smacks of being unpatriotic or hyper critical of the U. S. I am the son of a Vietnam vet and the grandson of a World War II hero, who was shot in the leg during his tour of duty. I don’t take their sacrifice lightly.

With that said, even those who fought for our country know that the world is bigger than just the U.S.A., and my third grader has listened enough to his parents and to his pastors to know that America isn’t even mentioned by name in the Bible (though Israel and Egypt get a lot of attention). Now, each country may be guilty of pounding its own chest in their respective news outlets and to some degree that’s understandable. But, what should I tell my son?

My response initially was this: “I don’t know, do you have any ideas?”

To which, of course, my son has plenty of ideas. Anyone who could blur reality with the world of Pokemon, Yugi-Oh, and the Dagobah system and thinks that dad just might visit Gotham City every few weeks to apply for a job at Wayne Enterprises certainly has the ability to mix metaphors, but on this one, my son seems rather steeped in truth.

“Maybe the people on television don’t care about the children in Somalia,” he says after a while.

“Maybe,” I reply.

“Or, maybe there are too many commercials and not enough time to show everything,” he ponders.

We don’t solve this issue over dinner, though I agree that there are too many commercials on television and that it’s possible that some media outlets don’t care about the humanitarian disasters that may not boost ratings. Hurricane Irene certainly got everyone’s attention, but famines and floods elsewhere are blips on the screen.  I am struck, though, with wondering if my son sees the tendency toward selfishness in me. Does he see the same thing in church? Is this tendency to put ourselves at the center of the world taught in school?

“Dad, do the people in Somalia know we are here, like we know they are there?”

I say nothing. I just pause to reflect on what they would say if those in refugee camps could see us now. Later that night, I give my son a longer hug than usual before bedtime. I tell him that I love him and that I will see him in the morning. Then, a couple hours later, I sneak in to his room and watch him sleep. He’s a growing up fast. 

-bo