Alex & Holly's Creative World

War Is Not Allowed!

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to sit down with Holly, age 7 and hear about her vision of a new world. Here she discusses in her own words the prison system, the banking system and her no-tolerance war policy. We can learn a lot from the dreams of a child and they can also serve as a reminder for us of how things in life are meant to be simple.

by Anne

Me: So first tell me about your world

Holly: I’m the queen and I choose what you have to do in my world so as grownups there are the mummies, daddies there’s grand dads, aunties and uncles and all the people in your families. Everybody can be there. But if you are bad I’ll give you one more chance.

Me: what is considered bad in your world?

Holly: well I don’t like stealing or lying or like saying rude words and smoking you get one and a half chances...

Me: what does one and a half mean?

Holly: it means if I even see you light a cigarette you go to prison because one chance means you can even put it in your mouth and then I put you in prison but one and a half means just lighting it you go to prison. Cigarettes are banned and if you sell a cigarette you also go to prison.

Me: how can you get out of prison?

Holly: well we’ve got shows where you have to have talent...

Me: you have talent shows in prison?

Holly: there are these kids who come here to the show place we have for the prisoners and the governor who is really me says who gets to stay and who gets to be free. We need four people in every act, we don’t always do every person in the prison so really the best people who have done the show and we know who the best is because the kids will clap the loudest for them...

Me: I see, so the prisoners put on a show for the children of the society and the children choose who’s the best and who gets to go free..

Holly: yes that is how it works in my world.

Me: what kind of show do the prisoners put on?

Holly: well they can do doggy acts where they have trained the dogs to stand up, rollover and stuff like that.

Me: can you explain the prison to me?

Holly: well we’ve got guards for the prison...

Me: are the guard’s nice people?

Holly: well sometimes they can be serious and sometimes they can be nice

Me: are the prisoners treated nicely or are they treated badly?

Holly: they are not treated badly, no not at all, we give them beds with normal sheets. If there’s one person we put them in a room with one bed if there are two people we put them in a room with two beds and in the morning they get cereal and in the afternoon they get soup and in the evening they get chicken.

Me: do they get to spend any time outside?

Holly: they do get to go outside so they can lift weights and stuff because their room is too small...well it’s not that small...

Me: how many people live in your world? Where is it?

Holly: well it’s on earth

Me: do you have your own country?

Holly: well...yes...I have my own country...well everywhere is mine...

Me: oh I see, I misunderstood you...so you rule the world.

Holly: yes...I’m like god.

Me: you are like god? ...Ok.

Holly: and if people have a problem...like if a woman stole another woman’s baby because she didn’t have her own and wanted one they would come to me and I would know exactly who’s the real mum because I would say fine I’ll cut the baby in two and I’ll give him to you...

Me: you would cut the baby in two?!?!?!?

Holly: no but it’s a part of my plan because I knew the mother would own up and she’d say I prefer you give the baby to this woman because I don’t want the baby to get hurt and I knew this would happen because no one would want a baby to get hurt!

Me: tell me more about your world!

Holly: well when you go to the shops everything is one euro... One coin.... It can be a coin of one...a coin of ten...

Me: what about Banks in your world? How do they work?

Holly: well they give you lots and lots of money. You don’t even need a credit card...you just need to put one coin in and it gives you back whatever you need.

Me: the bank gives you as much money as you want?

Holly: yes there’s a machine you click on and when you click on it shows you the coins and you click on however many coins you want then you click on the arrow that’s on the side.

Me: if you are giving money to everyone does that mean no one has to work?

Holly: well no, I’m the queen I don’t have to work.

Me: well your job is the most stressful of all...if you are ruling the world you will always be working!

Holly: well if I see anybody attacking poor people like the people of Gaza... Well the people who are attacking will get no money cuz we got cameras to recognize the people who are hurting others because it’s the people who control the banks.

Me: that’s cool, I like that.

Holly: so if the mean people try to go to the banks we will just close it for them but if the poor people come we’ll open it and give them more money.

Me: I really like that

Holly: yeah they’ll get a bit more money than you because you already have a house so for the poor people it’s going to be easier

Me: what about people who want to create war? What will you do?

Holly: war is not allowed. Everybody has to be friends.

Me: I agree but what if one country wanted to start a war with another country, what would you do?

Holly: well if one country wanted to start a war I would stop it.

Me: how would you stop it? What if they did it anyways what would happen?

Holly: well they wouldn’t do it because they wouldn’t want to go to jail because sometimes when the guards are mean they lock them up in a dirty cell...

Me: what’s a dirty cell?

Holly: well a dirty cell is like really dirty...with spiders and rats...that’s where the people go when they start wars...because my people won’t like war. They are not allowed to have war. But if there’s a country that wants war and there’s another country that doesn’t want war then the first country...the president there will have a chat with me and the people will also have a very long chat with him too...

Me: what’s the one thing in the world today that you would like to make better?

Holly: to end war and have it be not allowed.

Me: that would be amazing...