Cop That, Leo

Utopian-minded dreamers love to coo about 'the wisdom of children', a phrase which was the title and also the theme of a short story by another Utopian-minded dreamer.

In the story, two girls playing in new frocks accidentally splash mud on the dress of one. Their mothers argue, causing others to argue and fight. But:

In the meantime, Akulka had washed off her frock, and she and Malasha returned to the pool. The two girls make a small boat out of bark, and they make a stream from the puddle. They go chasing after the boat together, as happy as ever. Akulka's grandmother urges everyone to follow the example of the children, and take their spirit of forgiveness into their own hearts.

Yeah, right.

This is the wisdom of children:

A SWAZI man was stoned to death by a mob of schoolchildren after he stabbed a 13-year-old girl to death with a spear and wounded 12 others at their school... teachers had tried unsuccessfully to stop the students from killing the man.

There's a lesson in there somewhere.

-- Nick