Civic Minded

I haven't updated my homeschool blog in forever (I'm lazy like that) and think this should probably go there, but I get more readers here. Though if I weren't lazy with that blog, I'd probably get more readers, but then I'd have to update it more. It's a vicious circle. Anyway, Indy is a very civic minded kid. Actually he cares about the world. Is there a world equivalent to civic minded? If there is, let me know. The point is, he cares. A lot. Things that aren't fair or right really bother him. We used to try to shield him from the bad in the world, but he showed a real interest in what was going on, so we let him watch the news and explain things to him as simply as we can. You may remember how he felt about helping Haiti after the earthquake. I have to say I'm quite proud of him for his interest and empathy.
Last week was Earth Day and the next day I let Indy watch the Oprah Earth Day show (we get Oprah a day after it airs in the States) and he was riveted. I was a bit reluctant to let him watch the part about the Oscar winning documentary The Cove, but he wanted to and I figured I could turn it if he got too freaked out. We were both shocked and horrified by what we saw. Indy was outraged. Out. Raged. He decided to write a letter to the most powerful person he could think of: President Obama. It's a very long letter for a 7 year old. Mr. HH and I do discuss politics with Indy (as much as he can understand, anyway), but keep it pretty neural as we'd like him to form his own opinions, rather than take our political leanings. Indy liked both Obama and McCain in the elections and would have been happy with either outcome. Since Obama won, he's been a full on supporter. I'm going to type his letter for you to read. These are his own words. I wrote them on the board as he said them and then he wrote it down.

Dear Mr. President,

Hello. My name is [Indy]. I live on an Army post in Heidelberg, Germany. My mom homeschools me and let me watch the Oprah Earth Day show. America needs to recycle more! We recycle every day because it's the law and because we care about the earth. Recycling should be a law in America too!
The dolphins in Japan are being slaughtered. The dolphins didn't do anything to us so why should we kill them? The blood is infecting that waters and killing other animals in the sea. You are the most powerful person in the world. Can't you stop this?

Sincerely,
[Indy]

Is this a great kid or what?