Don't Say Should?

My name is Sky Rainbow River Smith. In case that seems somehow different, like you should know what it means but you don't, it's OK. A lot of people react the same way. They know the answer but they can't quite get hold of it. My parents are tree-huggers.

"Oh, I knew that" you are saying to yourself, or your friend if she is there with you. It is one of those things, like a certain type of Jeopardy question, and you know it, it is right there, but you can't quite call up the actual word you are grasping for. It is because of something the Jeopardy people figured out a long time ago. Certain types of information, usually good for you, always force-fed, cannot actually be retained. Too many people who know just what you should do.

Tree-huggers have been telling us things for years, that we are perfectly well aware we need to know. However true this may be, they are the most conceited, arrogant, lecturing people on the planet. they whine, complain, look at and treat us like we are stupid. They preach and go on and on and on with facts and figures that put economists to sleep. They also misspell five words in explaining that we have misused one.We cannot stand the tree-huggers, even if we love them. It does not matter that it could mean the end of Life on Earth. If it involves listening to the Tree-Huggers explain one more thing with their pretend-patient condescending speech, let Life end, I am sure the other species will thank us for it.(they took a poll, you know).

Lately a few hearty souls have been looking at the possibility of bypassing the Tree-Huggers altogether, and starting a new message, warning people about what is happening, without saying SHOULD. It has been looked at, and a handful of 7th graders think they may have come up with a way to warn everyone without even once reminding them of ...well, you know... them (the tree-huggers). They are thinking, if people just got the a few good ideas, with everybody assuming that they could figure out how to do a good thing.With nobody being superior, no one competing, maybe we could just fix it like we could have in the first place, you know, before...THEY... showed up.

I hope we can get something done, but I don't get my hopes up. Something about deciding that you personally are saving the world really seems to lend itself to whiney, preachey, knowing it all. But I wish those seventh graders good luck.