Opportunity Knocks #87 - 12/19/2024 Head (mass hysteria v. moral panic), Heart (the origins of Secret Santa), and Hands (holiday thank you notes from kids)
Every week I share reflections, ideas, questions, and content suggestions focused on championing, building, and accelerating opportunity for children.
Head:
While I have more to share about how internal migration impacts children, which I referenced last week, I have to address the situation close to home: drones. As a New Jerseyan, I am following this story closely. Lots remains unclear, but I suspect mass hysteria is one of the contributing factors. The daily reporting and constant conversation about the situation got me thinking about difference between mass hysteria and moral panic, two phenomena that often directly involve children—e.g., the Leroy incident—or indirectly impact them. Understanding the differences is crucial because each demands a distinct response. Here is how I distinguish them (note: there are some instances where these categories can overlap):
Heart:
Read: Humankind: Changing the World One Small Act at a Time by Brad Aronson
Why: How seemingly insignificant choices and decisions can lead to transformative change, an important lesson for children.
Story to think about: the origins of Secret Santa, detailed in the book, but summarized in a CBS News article.
“It’s the one story that never gets old. Every year we ride with Secret Santa as he and his elves hand out hundreds of $100 bills to random strangers across the country. Viewers have no doubt seen the happy endings, but almost no one knows the humble beginning. The legend of Secret Santa can actually be traced back to a single act of kindness in Houston, Mississippi. It was 1971. A homeless man had wandered into town, and he was starving. The stranger stopped at the Dixie Diner and ordered the biggest breakfast on the menu. His plan was to sneak out before the bill came. But the owner, a guy named Ted Horn, sensed what was about to happen. So he snuck up behind the guy with a $20 bill in his hand and said, “I think you may have dropped this.” “And that was the end of it as far as he was concerned,” said David Horn, Ted’s son. David and his sister Sandra say their dad died in 2009, but that one gift keeps on giving. “That one little $20, just look what it did,” Sandra said. “It’s difficult to imagine that,” David said. The homeless stranger was a man named Larry Stewart, who vowed that day if he ever got rich he would return the favor in spades. Larry eventually made millions in cable and long distance and became the first Secret Santa, his identity revealed only after he was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2006.”
Hands:
Shared by a reader: have your children write thank you notes to your garbage collectors and mail person when you give them a holiday tip.
Until next week, be calm and be kind,
Andrew