TV has shaped my life more than I probably care to admit. Throughout my adolescence, the answer to the question “What do you want to be when you grow up?” was primarily informed by what TV show I was watching (Suits, Alias, Scandal, etc). But in the years before there were spies and lawyers, there was Sesame Street.
Sesame Street’s emergence onto the national TV circuit in 1969 was actually quite radical. The show's creators, including Jim Henson, wanted to create a program that was both entertaining and educational. They sought to explain the world to children in a way that would prepare them to engage with the world as it was. Amidst the energy of the Civil Rights Movement, they made a special effort to connect with inner city children of color whose schools were often underfunded and overlooked.
Growing up, one of my favorite characters on Sesame Street was Snuffleupagus. I loved his insightful, gentle demeanor and how it was juxtaposed with his large and shaggy brown frame. Watching Snuffy and the other characters interact with each other and demonstrate care, compassion, and kindness didn’t feel shallow or corny. It felt natural. Like I was being exposed to a world I could aspire to be a part of, or someday create for myself.
As you might have learned in the news this week, Sesame Street is a road that extends far beyond our country’s borders. Over 30 countries have their own versions of the show with unique casts of characters and cultures that teach universal lessons about treating each other with kindness while navigating life’s shocks and disappointments. In her book, Muppets in Moscow, Natasha Lance Rogoff tells the story of her time bringing Sesame Street to Russia following the collapse of the Soviet Union. She details how, in the midst of assassinations and bombings, muppets were seen as the ideal ambassadors of a new perspective. They brought insight and humor to the children of Russia and Ukraine in the midst of tumultuous change and uncertainty.
One of the primary victims of the most recent sweeping changes across the federal government has been USAID, the United States’ federal agency dedicated to advancing humanitarian work worldwide. Many of USAID’s projects have been scrutinized and challenged in recent days and weeks, with a favorite talking point being none other than Sesame Street.
Ahlan Simsim is an Iraqi version of Sesame Street, and the show has become one of the primary examples used to exemplify USAID’s supposed wastefulness. In justifying the shuttering of the agency White House Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, claimed that USAID had spent $20 million dollars on developing the show in Iraq. This is only partially true. The $20 million dollar grant was given to Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit organization that produces the show, but it was explicitly to create educational materials and community resources for children and families in war-torn countries. Something that ought not only be an American interest, but also a human one.
My main concern in this discussion is not that Ahlan Simsim or Sesame Workshop’s charitable work inherently proves that USAID is worth the money that it spends. There are many other cases for the organization’s contributions to public health and safety around the world that are, frankly, much stronger. What worries me is how quickly we are writing off producing stories for children as inherently wasteful or not a valid use of our resources. It is deeply concerning to me that the very concept of helping support Sesame Street for children in Iraq is so egregious or laughable that it becomes a talking point to justify the immediate deconstruction of an entire organization.
My first summer at college I spent working as a member of the education team at Thanksgiving Point. As I helped guide kids through science experiments or hold hissing cockroaches in the Butterfly Biosphere—not advertised in the job description—I gained a new appreciation for the importance of protecting childhood. Shouldn’t we all, but especially children, have the space to explore and preserve childlike wonder and curiosity? I firmly believe that Sesame Street can help offer that, especially when it is tailored to corners of the world where those spaces are harder to come by.
As I prepare to graduate into an uncertain future and look at the world around me, I realize that Sesame Street is probably more relevant to me now than perhaps it ever was. It is frankly ironic that the values it teaches us—kindness, patience, and forgiveness—are seen as principles primarily for children, when in reality, they only become more complex and hard to master as adults. I’m not saying that Elmo has all the answers, but if we hope to truly become a better country, then we have to become more comfortable with the fact that a perpetually three and a half year old muppet might have something valuable to share. Financially supporting stories and platforms that give voice to these values is not wasteful, it is exactly where I want my tax dollars to go. As we carry the lessons of these stories with us, then just maybe we might be lucky enough to find our way back to Sesame Street.