The Test

The Test

“What did they call the famous battle of 1842?”

“The Battle of 1842?”

“Not funny. I know you’re tired but you have to pass this test or you’ll be going to summer school instead of camp in June. Do you want that?”

“Why do I have to learn stupid things about what some old dead people called a battle that happened a couple hundred years ago?”

“You don’t, but it’s good to know why it was fought in the first place and how it was won by the side that won, and why that changed the way our society moved forward from there so that you understand what we’re doing now.”

“Why?”

“Are you planning to grow up?”

“Of course!”

“Well, the ‘old dead people’ who fought in that battle were really young soldiers, people who were trying to make our country a better place. Both sides had a good point, but their ideas couldn’t exist together so they had to pick one. What if that happens to you? What if, once you’re grown, some people decide they want to change something that you want to keep? What if it came right down to only one idea could work. Would you fight for what you wanted?’

“I don’t know...”

“OK. What if the other side decided to make video games illegal?”

“What? That’s outrageous! Nobody can do that, that’s... that’s...”

“Something to fight for?”

“Of course!”

“OK. Now what did they call the battle of 1842, because one side of that battle was fighting for something as important to them as video games are to you.”

“OK. I get it... let me find that...” Jared started leafing through his text book.

Mom walked by, leaning into her husband’s ear, she whispered, “We should probably plan on dying young...”