Let me start off by saying that I am a fiction lover. I am
book lover in general but fiction will always hold a special place my heart,
and time (I read a lot). This bias does color the way I see the world and
my interactions with others, as it should.
The other day I was out in public and overheard a mother say
to her eight-year-old son
“He can’t be your friend.
He is a fictional character. He is funny and makes you laugh on tv, he
is NOT your friend.”
The kid was CRUSHED. With one careless comment his mom took
away his friend. I almost went up to the
kid and told him to make friends with as many fictional characters as possible.
Some of my best friends and people I have learned the most from are fictional
characters.
Let’s be clear. I understand that a fictional friend is not
the same as a real friend. You can’t physically invite Mrs. Weasley, or whoever
it maybe, for a sleepover. But that
doesn’t mean she can’t comfort you, or that you can’t laugh with her, or most
importantly learn with and from her.
I also understand that maybe this particular depth didn't have an incredible amount a depth. But the world is much too hard to take away laughter and a fun-filled friendship from anyone. Let him enjoy the world while it is still simple and filled with laughter.
We should be encouraging children to read and expand their
imaginations through fictional characters, not dismissing them. Fictional
characters and stories teach us about others, ourselves and more that we never
would have learned otherwise.
When we count out the ability to make friends with fictional
characters, we are counting out our own capacity for empathy. To understand the
perspective of another. Without this kind of powerful empathy our world becomes
a colorless binary – what is me and what is not. What a bland and narrow-minded
world to allow a child, yourself, or anyone to live in. There are so many
perspectives and lessons in life, many of which are nearly impossible to
experience without the help of another, fictitious or not.
Please if you do anything encourage these relationships. Let
the little boy (and yourself) be friends with as many fictional characters as
possible.
There is always so much more to the world than our philosophies
could even dream of.
