Christopher Robin and his menagerie of beloved animals have become iconic to American & British childhood (the author, A.A.Milne, was born and lived in Great Britain) Personally, I have never been an ardently devoted Pooh fan, but there is an innocent charm about the adventures of a little boy and his bear, that I can't help but wonder at the bucolic, carefree view that pervades the Hundred Acre Wood.
Yet, some have condemned Christopher Robin for being a "sissy boy," and the sentiment can be felt that, instead of stuffed animals, he should play with mock weapons, training himself for the call of war. Where goes the innocence then? Why should he want to maim and kill in his make-believe world?
Obviously, this goes a little deeper than a fictional storybook character. This is about the formation of today's boys; tomorrow's men. I firmly believe there is a danger in the young boys of today dwelling on fantasies of the battlefield. Truth is, war is perhaps the ugliest thing mankind has engaged in. It is a fact of our existence and history, but the followers of the meekest, gentlest Person who walked the earth should not become entangled in this atrocity. We have been put here to show mercy instead of vengeance, compassion instead of selfishness, and love instead of hatred.
So, let little children be free of the hideous blotch of war, and may we also be more like them.
