The lovely Madelyn Simone and the delightful and determined Elizabeth Holiday had an overnight visit at Nana and Pop-Pop’s house this past weekend. We’ve been a “bubble” since May, as the adults in our family made that decision after weeks of waving to each other through the picture windows of our houses. No other sleepovers for them, no playdates, no babysitters, no trips to the mall, no free samples at Sam’s Club – spending the night at the grandparents is the extent of their social lives. At five, Lizzie is thrilled; at ten, Madelyn is still glad to come. I’m grateful.
My weekend conversations with Lizzie were enlightening. Her favorite subject is math – good for her. She plays noodle tag in gym, using pool noodles to keep kindergarten children six feet apart. Brilliant! She explained to me that you can get the ‘rona from yellow lady-bugs – knowledge gleaned from her kindergarten friends. And ghosts and zombies are real. When I offered an alternate viewpoint, she was quite insistent – no, they really are real.
From Elizabeth’s perspective, if someone tells her something is true, then it is. She doesn’t yet have the intellectual capacity to consider the evidence for herself. I’m a bit put-out, because after her parents, I’ve been a leading source of information in her life, and now I’m out to pasture, replaced by kindergarten experts and paranormal documentaries. But I know that over time, she’ll learn about the scientific method and the principles of geometric proofs, that list of statements and the reasons we know those statements are true. I knew I’d use tenth grade geometry one day. She’ll also learn how to determine the source of information, and will understand that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
In the late 90s, I took a class where we often discussed postmodernity, worth a google if you’re unfamiliar with the term. At the end of the 20thcentury, our first world culture was shifting from the science-based absolute truth of modernity to the relative truth of postmodernity. Our class focus was on the movement from a belief in the long-held tenets of religion to the assumption that anything goes spiritually – your truth is as good and as valid as my truth. That loss of absolute truth was in the realm of philosophy and religion, not necessarily science, math or elections.
As rumors of widespread election fraud are churning, I wonder, what is true? What is the source of these rumors? What evidence is being presented? And how does this fit in with my experience? Last question first. I stood in line to vote at the board of elections with other Ohio citizens. My neighbors from both the right and left persuasion searched for my name, verified my ID and signature, and checked me off the list. Other Ohioans, both R and D, counted my vote. Mail in ballots required ID verification, double envelopes to prevent tampering, two locks on the storage room door (red and blue keys), and separate machines for scanning and tabulating the votes. No internet-based tabulation was used (take that, Russian hackers). Seems like it would be easier to steal a Browns’ playbook than a vote.
As for my other questions, call me old-fashioned, but the maxim to “consider the source” has served me well over the course of a lifetime. I was deeply formed by tenth grade geometry and biology to logically follow the evidence to the truth, which I believed did exist and could be found. I am still that person, as evidenced by my determination to follow the evidence to get to the bottom of dubious social media claims. Inquiring minds still want to know. Yes, there can be shades of gray, but at the end of the day, Elvis is still dead, and the zombie apocalypse only happens in imagination, no matter what Elizabeth believes. I’ve concluded that our voting system, with its numerous checks and balances, can be trusted. Now, as long as I stay away from those COVID-spreading yellow ladybugs, all shall be well.
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