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Father: Go to the window, son. Now imagine that our yard is an entire nation and that you are its leader. Also imagine that all the other yards are other nations, each with their own leaders.
Son: Ok Dad.
Father: Ok, now imagine that a car comes down the street. It parks infront of the Smiths house. A man gets out. He throws a bomb which explodes and blows up the Smiths living room.
Son: Oh no! Are the Smiths dead?
Father: No, but some of them are hurt. Ambulances and firetrucks drive up. The fire from the bomb is put out, and the Smiths who are hurt are taken to the hospital.
Son: The poor Smiths. I feel awful.
Father: A lot of our neighbors are out on the street talking about this, and they all feel awful about it too. Some of them look around and notice that the car the bomber was driving is now parked in the Johnsons driveway. Someone else remembers that the bomber was wearing a coat that looked like the one Mr. Johnson always wears. Someone else notices that this is about the time Mr. Johnson comes home from work, too.
Son: Do you mean Mr. Johnson is the bomber, Dad?
Father: Well, it does look that way. But no one took any pictures, and no one can say that Mr. Johnson is surely the bomber. Some of them say they've heard that Mr. Johnson say he really, really hates Mr. Smith.
Son: Well, sounds like Mr. Johnson's a bad man. But only in make believe, right Dad?
Father: Right son, only in make believe. But also in make believe, Mr. Smith hears all this and gets very angry. He runs down to the Johnsons house, and some of the neighbors do too. They are all yelling and very angry.
Son: I think I am too, Dad. Mr. Johnson did something mean!
Father: Ok, you do that. You all go down to the Johnsons. Mr. Smith throws a bomb. Some others shoot guns.
Son: Me too, Dad. I shoot too. Bang. Bang!
Father: And some people give you and Mr. Smith bullets to shoot. Others don't want to be that angry, so they just watch and offer to help anyone who gets hurt. Pretty soon the Johnsons house is all on fire and blown up.
Son: Is Mr. Johnson dead?
Father: No one knows, son.
Son: Well, ok. I guess we paid him back for being so mean to Mr. Smith though?
Father: That you did, son. But Mr. Smith isn't done yet.
Son: What do you mean, Dad?
Father: You see Mr. Smith walking over to Mr. Richards house, and he looks really angry. He's yelling "Mr. Richards! You blew up my living room!"
Son: But that's not right, Dad! We think Mr. Johns...
Father: "Mr. Richards" yells Mr. Smith. "Mr. Richards is a bomber! Mr. Richards is a bomber!" He's yelling really loudly, and a whole lot.
Son: But Dad, no one saw Mr. Richa...
Father: Mr. Smith is throwing bombs and shooting Mr. Richards house now.
Son: That's not fair! Why is Mr. Smith is being mean!
Father: Well, in make believe only of course, Mr. Smith doesn't like Mr. Richards. They used to be good friends, but then Mr. Richards borrowed Mr. Smiths snow shovel, and Mr. Smith says he never got the shovel back. They argue about that a lot.
Son: Did Mr. Richards steal the shovel, Dad?
Father: It's complicated, Son. They borrowed a lot of things from each other over the years, so it's hard to say exactly who owns what. But Mr. Smith points at his blown up living room and yells "I don't want that to happen again! I'm going to blow up everyone who might ever do that!"
Son: Mr. Smith sounds kind of crazy, Dad.
Father: Mr. Richards is throwing bombs back at Mr. Smith now. Bombs are going off all over the place. Most of them are in Mr. Richards yard, but some are landing in other peoples yards and blowing up things there. They are both saying it's all the others fault.
Son: They are both crazy, Dad. I don't want to make believe any more.
Father: None of us do, Son. But in the real world you can't just stop.
Son: Well, then I'm not going to play with them anymore.
Father: What do you mean?
Son. Well, Mr. Johnson was mean. So I'm not going to play with him or his kids any more. It sounds like Mr. Richards stole a shovel, and he's throwing bombs all over the place, so I won't play with them any more too. And I'm REALLY not going to play with Mr. Smith. He's trying to blow up EVERYONE. He's really crazy.
Father: Mr Smith says that you're either with him or against him. That if you don't play with him and his kids then he's going to blow YOU up.
Son: (Wide eyed) Does he have a lot of bombs, Dad?
Father: Yes he does, Son. Probably more than anyone else on the block.
Son: (hesitates) I guess I still don't play with the Smiths. I don't have enough bombs. So all I can do is stop being his friend. Maybe if everyone stops being his friend he'll realize he's wrong and stop being so crazy. Or, maybe together, we can all have enough bombs to blow him up first.
Father: That might be a lot of bombs blowing things up, Son.
Son: I know Dad. But it's all because Mr. Smith is too crazy. He should have stopped after blowing up the Johnsons. He might have been able to talk with Mr. Richards and become friends again, or get his shovel back, or at least not loan him any more stuff. But Mr. Smith chose to throw bombs instead.
Father: Mr. Smith says Mr. Johnson started it, so it's not his fault.
Son: He's just using Mr. Johnson as an excuse. That's stupid, and I'd be stupid if I believed him.
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