Make Lemonade
I was walking down the street yesterday and I saw a little girl operating a lemonade stand. She was very bold, loudly informing me that she had "ice-cold fresh-squeezed lemon-lime juice." She was also adorable. Of course I bought a cup, and at 25 cents, it was actually kind of a bargain.
As a quick side note, the lemonade was not ice-cold, not fresh-sqeezed, and I have my doubts as to whether there was any lime in there. That makes me proud, though; it's good to know that our youth have the shameless mendacity they'll need to make it in this country.
Anyway, I was careful to treat the whole thing as a business transaction, though of course the real product I was buying was the entertainment. Kids selling lemonade are just adorable. The problem is, at some point kids become aware of the jokes being made (roughly) at their expense. At some point that little girl will realize that her parents helped her sell lemonade not because it is a good way to make money, or even to teach her a lesson about business, but merely because they think it's ridiculously cute. Which it is, of course.
The trouble is distinguishing cases in which this is okay from cases in which it isn't. Halloween seems like something that is okay, although clearly the main purpose is to share the adorableness of kids with the entire neighborhood. Maybe the really tricky areas are when kids get to the verge of self-awareness and start to realize what's going on. The difference is between a third-grade school play, which is almost entirely cute, and a high-school play, which is typically a decent production on its own merits. I guess things like the third-grade play are okay as long as the kids have a good time and don't sense the real nature of the entertainment.
I'm sensitive to this stuff because, as a kid, other people got a lot of mileage out of my naivete and overall ridiculousness. I guess they still do. And it really sucks to realize that all the encouragement you're getting is insincere, and in fact is meant to elicit more ridiculousness on your part.
As a quick side note, the lemonade was not ice-cold, not fresh-sqeezed, and I have my doubts as to whether there was any lime in there. That makes me proud, though; it's good to know that our youth have the shameless mendacity they'll need to make it in this country.
Anyway, I was careful to treat the whole thing as a business transaction, though of course the real product I was buying was the entertainment. Kids selling lemonade are just adorable. The problem is, at some point kids become aware of the jokes being made (roughly) at their expense. At some point that little girl will realize that her parents helped her sell lemonade not because it is a good way to make money, or even to teach her a lesson about business, but merely because they think it's ridiculously cute. Which it is, of course.
The trouble is distinguishing cases in which this is okay from cases in which it isn't. Halloween seems like something that is okay, although clearly the main purpose is to share the adorableness of kids with the entire neighborhood. Maybe the really tricky areas are when kids get to the verge of self-awareness and start to realize what's going on. The difference is between a third-grade school play, which is almost entirely cute, and a high-school play, which is typically a decent production on its own merits. I guess things like the third-grade play are okay as long as the kids have a good time and don't sense the real nature of the entertainment.
I'm sensitive to this stuff because, as a kid, other people got a lot of mileage out of my naivete and overall ridiculousness. I guess they still do. And it really sucks to realize that all the encouragement you're getting is insincere, and in fact is meant to elicit more ridiculousness on your part.
posted by James | 1:06 PM
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