A Lesson In Fairness

I'm walking my dog in the park this morning and see two boys who appear to be about five years old.  One of them has a ball, and the other doesn't.  The boy without a ball stops the one with the ball and says, "You have a ball and I don't!  It's not fair!"

There's a moment of silence before the boy without a ball repeats, "It's not fair!" 

The other boy, clutching his ball to his chest, lowers his head and quietly says, "I know."

And that's that.  The boys stand there for a few seconds saying nothing, and then they kind of shrug and run back onto the field to play.

There's something about their interaction that really hits me.  I suppose it proves something that I learned during all my years as a counselor:  validation, in and of itself, is a very powerful thing.  All that kid needed was acknowledgement that it sucks not having a ball (particularly when faced with someone who does have a ball), and he got it.

Also, there are few statements more valid to humanity than "it's not fair."

Ain't that the truth?

Nope, it's not fair.  But if we keep playing with each other, maybe we'll figure out some answers.  It's when we stop playing that we're completely & utterly screwed.

Because a world of Cartmans would be a very bad place.