I've been trying to teach Avadore and Spider-Fox (now eight and five) about cultural relativity and all the different cultures that exist in the world. Part of this involves discussing their heritage and the way the world works now, starting with ways that California and Idaho are the same and different. One isn't better than the other, though on a personal level one may prefer one to the other, they just are reflections of the different groups of people and individuals who dwell in these states.

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. wrote:

"I've often thought there ought to be a manual to hand little kids, telling them what kind of planet they're on, why they don't fall off it, how much time they've probably got here, how to avoid poison ivy, and so on. I tried to write one once. It was called Welcome to Earth. But I got stuck on explaining why we don't fall off the planet. Gravity is just a word. It doesn't explain anything. If I could get past gravity, I'd tell them how we reproduce, how long we've been here, apparently, and a little bit about relativity. I didn't learn until I was in college about all the other cultures, and I should have learned that in the first grade. A first grader should understand that his or her culture isn't a rational invention; that there are thousands of other cultures and they work pretty well; that all cultures function on faith rather than truth; that there are lots of alternatives to our own society. Cultural relativity is defensible and attractive. It's also a source of hope. It means we don't have to continue this way if we don't like it."

I want my children to feel the hope of living as they desire, whatever that will end up meaning to them, and that they shouldn't feel shackled by the dominant culture around them--they can make their lives a reflection of whatever culture feels best to them.