Touched by the Kids

**Spoilers**

Kid Nation (Wednesday, 8/7 central CBS)

I continue to be completely blown away by the kids of Bonanza City. If you have children and you are not watching this show with them, you should at least give it a chance. My mom watches it too and last night (after I'd watched some- I DVR'ed), I told her these kids could do a better job running this country than anyone else I can think of. I cry during every show because they are so amazingly insightful and adorable. Of course they are kids and do kid things but, they also say, do and understand things that adults for centuries have not been able to understand or agree.

Last nights episode focused on religion. The children were smart enough to realize that everyone is different and has different beliefs. I was raised in a small town. I had no idea about religions other than Christianity until I was older than 9 or 10! The kids were discussing religion and as the very intelligent Zach, 10, who is Jewish says, "Religion is a very touchy matter. That's what makes people fight, I mean, religion is most of the things that start wars." The 4 town leaders hold the meeting telling the town members that should have a religious service. They wanted to have one service with representatives from different religions speaking. A lot of the kids didn't like this idea for fear that the differences would cause fights and thought the religious services should be kept separate. One child, Alex, 9, said, "There's a lot of things that are central to all religions and we can just focus on those instead of focusing on the differences." How smart is that?

Later, smart little Alex decided that he'd do a survey in the town to see what religion everyone was- he was KILLING me with cute and smart. His findings: majority are Christian, a few people are Jewish, one person is Hindu, 3 people are atheist, and a few other people were other. How cute and smart is Alex.

The town leaders called the service to order and no one showed. People were afraid of fighting, some were not comfortable, others were not very tolerant or understanding. That night, Morgan, 12, the peacemaker, called on them to come by the bonfire for prayer- if they wanted. The children felt more comfortable and went. Many kids prayed, including Zach who sang a Hebrew prayer. Let me tell y'all- this is where I lost it. I cried and cried. Then a sweet boy talked about how the coming together and praying had touched him and he started crying... Good Lord, it was over then. I was all "If...these...sniff...sweet babies can...sniff...do this...hic...well...what's wrong with...hic...this country!"

Now, Taylor- little Miss Queen- she's getting on my nerves! Granted I wouldn't have lasted a day there as a child OR now. I would sleep all morning (but not on the floor!) and I would not be able to "go" in a port-a-potty or eat what they are eating. And they are cold. Plus, are they bathing? Those bunks probably smell like wet squirrels! I'm glad yellow isn't the Upper Class anymore because that's Taylor. She always acts like Upper Class anyway. Blue wins U.C., Red is the merchants, yellow is the cooks, green the laborers. No one wants the yellow to be the cooks because they don't cook! They are the youngest team and Taylor is their leader. The whole town gets a reward and they get to choose between two- a miniature golf course or a library of holy books (Bible, Torah, Koran, etc). The town leaders allowed everyone to vote and the books won. I'm shocked. I think parents are doing a better job than the "media" and such are giving credit.

Then there was 9 year old Cody. He was very, very homesick. He was crying. He has a best friend, Campbell and they are SO CUTE. Cody told Campbell that he was very homesick and upset. Campbell said, "Well, I think you should do something to get your mind off of it like... ummm, looking at cows is fun!" So sweet. Cody said, "I need to go to the soda salon, drink a root beer and get my mind off of it." Seriously, adorable. Of course, I cried, again.

The town leaders had to discuss who deserved the gold star. People they discussed- Zach, Morgan, Greg. Taylor doesn't want Zach, of course, because he's a yellow team member and threatens her "leadership". Mike still is hesitant about Greg's motives (rightfully so) but, everyone agrees that Morgan is wonderful. She is humble, loving, helpful, and motherly. Morgan reminds me of My Maria a lot.

Every week, there is an official town meeting with the "host" of the show. He asks if they approve of the job the town leaders are doing. When this was asked, Taylor's behavior was brought up and she acted like a brat. Then, he asks if anyone would like to go home. Little Cody raised his hand and broke poor Campbell's heart. The whole town was sad and crying (what do you think I did?) Then the gold star was awarded. The winner- Morgan. She deserved it. She got to call her parents which always gets me, too.

This show touches me more than any other show has. I realize things about children that I never knew. I also think it is very inspirational. These little souls are wonderful and I look forward to seeing them every week. Check it out.

XXXOOO