I Believe in Mermaids

So today, the United States government, specifically the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration made the announcement that mermaids are not real. 

On the one hand, anyone who passed second grade knows that there is no scientific evidence to support the existence of mermaids.  Do I actually think that Ariel and her sisters are physical entities that exist in our world?  No, of course not.  But is that a good enough reason not to believe in them?

Our world today seems obsessed with facts.  Unfortunately, I learned in the world of academia that "facts" are often confused with "truth."  Take politics for example.  The facts are facts.  Period, end of discussion.  But as we all know, liberals and conservatives profess very different "truths."  Both can not be right, but neither will ever admit they are wrong.  In their minds, they are not wrong.  What is truth to one person is not necessarily truth to another.

Here are the facts.  Mermaids do not exist.

Here is the truth.  There is no harm in believing in mermaids.  Quite the contrary, I think more people today could use a good dose of pure fantasy. 

Growing up, my life revolved around two things: Disney and marine life.  Needless to say, I was obsessed with the idea of being a mermaid.  I had mermaid dolls.  I drew countless pictures of mermaids.  I would even take my diving rings and slip them around my feet in the pool so I could swim like a mermaid.

I wasn't the only kid to play pretend.  Kids imagine all kinds of things.  Unfortunately, most of us grow out of that as we get older.  That's not necessarily a bad thing.  You can't live inside your own head all the time.  That's no life at all.  But if we let go of fantasy altogether and see the world only as it is, it becomes harder and harder to preserve a sense of wonder.

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/hawaiian-monk-seal/

I worry now that by pushing math and science and letting go of the arts, our society is forcing the fantasy out of kids at a faster rate.  While I was growing up, I was always encouraged to draw, to paint, to write, to run around outside, to catch fireflies, to swim, to play the piano, and to sing.  Today, kids are on computers and iPhones and video game consoles.  They are become more dependent on technology and less on their own imaginations.

In the end, this isn't about mermaids not existing.  It's about society not giving us, kids in particular, the chance to believe in something wonderful and magical and awe-inspiring.  I am twenty-four years old and to this day, I still love the idea of mermaids.  They inspire me to believe that there's more to life than money and work and busy schedules.  There's still freedom and creativity and beauty in the world. 

It's okay to believe in fantasy, and it's okay to believe in mermaids.  I know I still do.  And I hope, one day, my children will too.      

*All photographs © copyright by Jacqueline E. Smith.