If Your Gonna Vote, You Gotta Know the Bloke!

Everyone seems to lament how tiresome the debates and endless politicking is.. and November is soooo far away.

But I am enjoying it. This *can* be fun.

It is giving my family and myself time to learn more and more about these men (and woman) as they pound away on the election road. For example, can Senator Clinton maintain her new 'kind and gentle' image in front of the Iowa cameras with a bad cold on top of late nights, multiple appearances and bad food? How do all these candidates handle adverse conditions? It is like watching interns on the 72nd hour of no sleep.. will they crack??

But why watch this stuff, we all know about the ridiculous media spin?

Yup! It is a reality and like it or not, it is part of our life. It did give me a sense of relief to read about Abraham Lincoln and the battles he had with the media in his day. This is not new. This is human nature. Part of this whole process is understanding when we are being 'spun' by the media and trying to see through.

Honestly, I think if Americans could understand that one thing, when they are being 'spun', then our country would be so much better off.

THINK, Americans!!

What a great chance for us to help our children learn to think. Not just put our political opinions on them, but help them see the spin, the issues and think things through. What a gift these elections and our media gives us. A virtual classroom!

How many Bush Haters out there are simply being manipulated by the liberal media? Do they really "hate" Bush? And if so, why? Was it because Chris Matthews told them to, or they thought David Letterman's endless jokes were hilarious? Or do they have real reasons?
(OTOH, I can tell you exactly why I dislike the Clintons. Believe me, I have thought about it and it is completely against prevailing media spin.)

This is your country. Don't just throw up your hands and say it is broken so we will stick our heads in the sand. Then we really will turn it over to those least qualified.

And if you are voting for someone because Oprah or Chuck Norris told you to... then, maybe just stay home.

I digress!

I thought I would gather up for my family the *issues* pages of each of the major candidates so we could read for ourselves where they stand. Now, when we read these we have to understand they may have behaved differently than they say, but this is a starting point.

But why bother, since we have no control over who will be nominated by each party? (unless we live in a caucus state)? Well, because it helps us *know* who is out there. It gets us involved in the (very imperfect) process. The bumper stickers that irk me the most are not ones supporting candidates I don't like but those that say things like:

"Don't Blame Me, I Voted for Kinky"

Give me a break. This is your country, too.


Don't be discouraged because it all seems so political. Yes, there are candidates the press ignores. Keep plugging. Make the best choice you can.

See these Wikapedia articles for a rundown of who is running, who dropped out, who we will never hear of.
Republicans running

Democrats running


And here is a nice general article about the presidential elections with a nice electoral college map. We had the best time tracking the returns and the electoral college votes in past elecions.

But this is reality. Someone will be elected and it will affect the world, the U.S. and you on a daily basis. Just think, if nothing else, who do you want to hear giving speeches all the time on TV? But more importantly, who is going to try and lead us through these difficult times? Whoever it is needs all of our prayers.

So grab a cup of cocoa, gather the kids around, put on your


Anti-Political Correctness goggles



and read about these Americans who all want desperately to be your next president.

In fact, keep a notepad handy and jot down thoughts and comments from your kids. There can be tons of rabbit trails for learning, such as the War in Iraq. Why are we there? Who are the Shiites? The Sunnis? What does tribalism have to do with the current events today? Does the president of Iran really think there was NEVER a holocaust? Is there really proof there was one, or is he right?
Why does he hate Israel?.. and on and on...

It is amazing all the questions that can come up when discussing current events and how they can lead us back through history....


And, learning where we have been, where we are now, maybe together we can cut through the spin, or at least not get dizzy next time the press puts us on its carousel...and get to the heart of the issues important to us.

OK- As promised, here are the issues pages I found on the official websites of each major candidate. Enjoy!

Republicans:
(they go first cuz I like them better- otherwise in no particular order)

Mike Hukabee
Ron Paul
Mitt Romney
Rudy Guliani
John McCain
Fred Thompson
Duncan Hunter
Alan Keyes

Democrats:
Joe Biden
Hillary Clinton
Chris Dodd
John Edwards
Mike Gravel
Dennis Kuchinich
Barack Obama
Bill Richardson

Please comment if I have omitted any candidates. I just included the major contenders.

Now, to go read through these sites myself. A tough job, but someone's gotta do it...

Our Country- Conversation Starters

People lament our election primaries and prelimiaries go on too long. I dissagree!

It gives us a chance to get to know these people vying to be our president. Yes, there is too much money involved and the system is imperfect and the media is biased. But if we can understand these men (and woman) more, it is worth it.

I missed the Romney speech on Mormanism and the presidency yesterday but this has been an ongoing topic in our house. Great fodder for conversation.... what a mix: politics and religion! What do your kids think?

Here are some viewpoints... converstation starters


Examinier article

Rush Limbaugh's take

Another take

Justice Clarence Thomas

Did you know Clarence Thomas is Catholic and studied to be a priest?
Did you know Clarence Thomas became an angry young black man and rioted in Harvard Square in 1970?
Did you know Clarence Thomas's grandfather's favorite phrase was:
"Old Man Can't is dead. I buried him."

Wonderful interview by three Hillsdale College students. Worth the read.. and passing on to your kids.
Click here

The Imprimis is also available for free- the magazine in which the interview was published.

Netflix Goodies!

Just loaded up my Netflix queue! I just love Netflix! Based on my ratings when I watch movies it reccommends new ones for me, or suggests by catagory, etc. I just reviewed all the Oscar winners for Best Picture and added a few.
I just watched the top three movies, (and included reviews)- the others are coming soon.

Love getting that red envelope in the mail.... ;)

Laura
(didn't like... too forced and non-likable characters. Didn't finish)


2 The Stratton Story
Good ol' Jimmy Stewart and good ol' June Allyson as baseball pitcher Monty Stratton and his (perfect..lol) wife. Funny thing as these same actors were paired up as Glenn Miller and wife in the Glenn Miller Story.. had trouble switching from trombone to baseball bat. But nice, happy, inspiring movie and I googled Monty Stratton after I watched it and learned something new.


3 Command Decision
Really liked it- so did Bryan. All male cast. Clark Gable (love him...) and this WWII film was made after the war. First WWII film (so I understand) that showed the flawed relationship between the military/politicians/media. Yes! We saw some of the same issues we are seeing today.. Miliary trying to do their job, fat politicians trying to position it with the public and their careers and media (newspapermen) sometimes allies, sometimes not.
Recommend...

And these are coming to my 'theater' soon!






Leave Her to Heaven


Something the Lord Made


A Lesson Before Dying


Since You Went Away
UR Classics Now

So Proudly We Hail!


Schindler's List


All Quiet on the Western Front


How Green Was My Valley


A Man for All Seasons

The Wright Stuff

We all loved this American Experience documentary about the Wright Brothers.
For my son who is not into dusty history or long intricate books, we are finding well done biographies fit the bill perfectly.

From the Netflix site:

This compelling documentary chronicles how the eccentric Wright brothers -- two seemingly ordinary young men who ran a bicycle shop in Dayton, Ohio -- became self-taught aeronautical engineers and overcame the skepticism of the world to build the first successful flying machine. Garrison Keillor narrates and David McCullough hosts this program that originally aired as an episode of the Emmy Award-winning PBS series "The American Experience.

Quotes on Freedom

As we have pondered freedom and what it really means, I found these quotes from The Bravewriter Blog

Why is freedom important? It is all about economics and wanting power and money? I watched The Crossing, about the first major battle led by Washington (where he crossed the Delaware), which turned the tide of the war.

Washington was showing his disgust for the German Hessions against whom he was fighting for Trenton. They were paid mercenaries, fighting not for principle but for money.
His advisor said to him that it is really all economic. Washington himself was fighting for money. The colonists didn't like taxes, the British wanted the wealth. Is that all they were fighting for? When is fighting and war acceptable?
This runs deep especially with our faith and the concept of 'just war'.

I am still working this out, but I think the quotes below shed some light. Still a current topic in our times.

Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote!

–Benjamin Franklin

Never trouble trouble till trouble troubles you. I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. My sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history, naval architecture, navigation, commerce and agriculture in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry, and porcelain.

–John Adams (1735-1826)

Four freedoms: The first is freedom of speech and expression - everywhere in the world. The second is freedom of everyone to worship God in his own way, everywhere in the world. The third is freedom from want . . . everywhere in the world. The fourth is freedom from fear . . . anywhere in the world.–

Franklin D. Roosevelt U.S. President



(By the way, in an endnote in the movie it said that 16,000+ German mercenaries came over to be paid warriors. 10,000+ returned home. Of those left many thousands were estimated to have survived and settled here, to become part of our America.)

"It makes you let go of something. And it makes you hold on to something."

PEGGY NOONAN

On Letting Go
How we become American

Friday, June 29, 2007 12:01 a.m. EDT

Happy Fourth of July. To mark this Wednesday's holiday, I share a small moment that happened a year ago in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. I was at a wake for an old family friend named Anthony Coppola, a retired security guard who'd been my uncle Johnny's best friend from childhood. All the old neighborhood people were there from Clinton Avenue and from other streets in Brooklyn, and Anthony's sisters Tessie and Angie and Gloria invited a priest in to say some prayers. About a hundred of us sat in chairs in a little side chapel in the funeral home.

The priest, a jolly young man with a full face and thick black hair, said he was new in the parish, from South America. He made a humorous, offhand reference to the fact that he was talking to longtime Americans who'd been here for ages. This made the friends and family of Anthony Coppola look at each other and smile. We were Italian, Irish, everything else. Our parents had been the first Americans born here, or our grandparents had. We had all grown up with two things, a burly conviction that we were American and an inner knowledge that we were also something else. I think we experienced this as a plus, a double gift, though I don't remember anyone saying that. When Anthony's mother or her friend, my grandmother, talked about Italy or Ireland, they called it "the old country." Which suggested there was a new one, and that we were new in it.

But this young priest, this new immigrant, he looked at us and thought we were from the Mayflower. As far as he was concerned--as far as he could tell--we were old Yankee stock. We were the establishment. As the pitcher in "Bang the Drum Slowly" says, "This handed me a laugh."

This is the way it goes in America. You start as the Outsider and wind up the Insider, or at least being viewed as such by the newest Outsiders. We are a nation of still-startling social fluidity. Anyone can become "American," but they have to want to first.

It has had me thinking a lot about how people become American.





I don't know that when my grandfather Patrick Byrne and his sisters, Etta and Mary Jane, who had lived on a hardscrabble little farm in Donegal, on the west coast of Ireland, felt about America when they got here. I don't know if they were "loyal to America." I think they were loyal to their decision to come to America. In for a penny, in for a pound. They had made their decision. Now they had to prove to themselves it was the right one. I remember asking Etta what she'd heard about America before she got here. She said, "The streets were paved with gold." All the immigrants of the late 19th and early 20th century used that phrase.
When I was in college in the 1970s, I got a semester abroad my junior year, and I took a boat from England to Ireland and made my way back to Donegal. This was approximately 55 years after my grandfather and his sisters had left. There I met an old man who'd been my grandfather's boyhood friend. He lived by himself in a shack on a hill and was grateful the cousins I'd found had sent me to him. He told me he'd been there the day my grandfather, then a young man, left. He said the lorry came down the lane and stopped for my grandfather, and that his father said goodbye. He said, "Go now, and never come back to hungry Ireland again."

My grandfather had his struggles here but never again went home. He'd cast his lot. That's an important point in the immigrant experience, when you cast your lot, when you make your decision. It makes you let go of something. And it makes you hold on to something. The thing you hold on to is the new country. In succeeding generations of your family the holding on becomes a habit and then a patriotism, a love. You realize America is more than the place where the streets were paved with gold. It has history, meaning, tradition. Suddenly that's what you treasure.

A problem with newer immigrants now is that for some it's no longer necessary to make The Decision. They don't always have to cast their lot. There are so many ways not to let go of the old country now, from choosing to believe that America is only about money, to technology that encourages you to stay in constant touch with the land you left, to TV stations that broadcast in the old language. If you're an immigrant now, you don't have to let go. Which means you don't have to fully join, to enmesh. Your psychic investment in America doesn't have to be full. It can be provisional, temporary. Or underdeveloped, or not developed at all.

And this may have implications down the road, and I suspect people whose families have been here a long time are concerned about it. It's one of the reasons so many Americans want a pause, a stopping of the flow, a time for the new ones to settle down and settle in. It's why they oppose the mischief of the Masters of the Universe, as they're being called, in Washington, who make believe they cannot close our borders while they claim they can competently micromanage all other aspects of immigration.





It happens that I know how my grandfather's sister Mary Jane became an American. She left a paper trail. She kept a common-place book, a sort of diary with clippings and mementos. She kept it throughout the 1920s, when she was still new here. I found it after she'd died. It's a big brown book with cardboard covers and delicate pages. In the front, in the first half, there are newspaper clippings about events in Ireland, and sentimental poems. "I am going back to Glenties . . ."
But about halfway through, the content changes. There is a newspaper clipping about something called "Thanksgiving." There are newspaper photos of parades down Fifth Avenue. And suddenly, near the end, there are patriotic poems. One had this refrain: "So it's home again and home again, America for me./ My heart is turning home again, and there I long to be./ In the land of youth and freedom beyond the ocean bars/ Where the air is full of sunlight, and the flag is full of stars."

Years later, when I worked for Ronald Reagan, those words found their way into one of his speeches, a nod from me to someone who'd made her decision, cast her lot, and changed my life.

I think I remember the last time I told that story. I think it was to a young Mexican-American woman who was a speechwriter for Bill Clinton. I think she completely understood.

God bless our beloved country on the 231st anniversary of its birth.

Ms. Noonan is a contributing editor of The Wall Street Journal and author of "John Paul the Great: Remembering a Spiritual Father" (Penguin, 2005), which you can order from the OpinionJournal bookstore. Her column appears Fridays on OpinionJournal.com.

Peggy Noonan's Site

Our Independence Day

I have been thinking a lot lately about what I want my boys to learn. Leonie has had an interesting discussion on her blog about what she requires in homeschooling.

"Requirements" is a completely different post, which I am formulating in my head and hope to post soon. To me it is not a certain list, but a way of life. More on that later.

But, as I was thinking about what ideas or ideals I want my boys to ponder in these learning years, the topics related to our celebration of America's independence rose to the top.

We live in a difficult time, one of many in history. As it said in scripture, we are in a time in which what is good is bad, what is bad is good, what is up is down and down is up. Today that is called political correctness. If one publicly asserts a moral code they are attacked as being intolerant or worse. And, so of course patriotism has become confused in the mire and is often branded as racism.

With immigration things are even more confusing. It begs the question of whether we can be a soverign nation within the culture of political correctness. And more fully, can we be a Christian nation in action and principle, welcoming to all peoples as our faith teaches us, while also protecting our nation and nurtuing its future.

This post will not try and answer those questions, but they are things I ponder and I share with my sons. They will be living in this world a generation past all of us and our grandchildren will inherit it after them. What kind of world will they live in? And what will our country look like in that global scenario? Our children will be facing these issues and hopefully will be leaders in thought and action.

I heard a survey yesterday that by 3 to 1 Americans think things will be worse for our children and not better. But there are voices who think they will be better. I want to be one of those voices. Prayer is foremost. But secondly we must have knowledge.

I think the answers to this depends on us and our children understanding our country, where it came from and where it has the potential to go, all while translating through our faith and God's dominion.


The demographic face of the United States is changing. How does that square with the ideals first set forth for this country? Was the founding of our country based on race, religion or ethnic make up? Is there room for all?

When we look at the immigration at the end of the 19th century, we see a true melting pot. What was it that brought people to want to live here when there were no handouts, welfare or groups to protect and feed the poor? What brought them all here without guarantees?

As I read and research I find a common bond for the founding of America. It is based on a creed. Ideals. The ideals are that of freedom (religious, economic, etc) and democracy. That implied that if you came to this country, you were not guaranteed the security that a large government or monarchy could provide. But you could live your life in freedom. Thus, the majority of those who came were self-starters, hard workers and not in search of a mother country to take care of them.

That is what has led to much of America's economic success, we were founded by self-starters.

We also were founded by people who had a deep belief in God. For example, as the first Continential Convention was about to give up in frustration, Benjamin Franklin stopped the meeting and called for prayer. They ceased all discussion and prayed, and then went on to finish the job.

George Washington truly was a towering figure, the real father of our country, and I think we have lost a lot of that recognition today. He could have been King of America. He was offered that in lieu of being President. He flatly refused and King George III was amazed and greatly impressed by this truly magnificent man. These were the kinds of people who began our country, despite the writings of the revisionist authors of today.

How does that figure into the America of today, which is a very different country in a different world from that in the 1700's. Can our constitution and founding ideas carry us through for two more centuries? Are the ideas outdated?

That is what I want my family and I to explore. We are going back to the roots to understand who the people were and what they stood for when they broke away from King George III of England.

To me, that is the basis of being able to make sense of where America can go in the future. Are we still a creedo nation? We are especially no longer bound by race, economic group or culture. When we began we were 90% English and most completely Christian. But what bound us together were the founding ideals.

Are those ideals still enough to hold together our country? And if so, how do they translate to guide us in our current issues of immigration, world policy, environmentalism, welfare, and a host of others.

What I want to give my boys is a foundation from which to be able to sort out the world and have vision into the future. Like the wonderful quote: Those who do not understand history are bound to repeat it." I feel that if we don't understand the roots of where we come from we can't know where we are going. Or if it is worth the trip, and particularly if it is worth fighting for.

Because we are currently in a fight to save our nation, from threats without and within.

We are starting with some basic review of the founding of the nation. We read some nice Sonlight and other books in past years, as well as study of our government and how it works. We have read through the Declaration of Independence and Constitution briefly in years past. All along we have followed current events, elections, politics and world events.

I hope to review our founders and history again with an eye to applying it to today's issues. Also we are reading from ,The Spirit of America edited by William Bennett, which takes original writings from the framers of our country. We hear straight from them how they foresaw this country.

If their vision is no longer valid, then really the country is up for grabs. So let's see what they had to say!

God Bless America and the whole world--

Happy Independence Day... and with all the problems of America, I want to remember what an awesome country this is.

I think it is very, very easy to take our freedom for granted.

Lillies of the Field.. .Lovely, Lovely Book

Do you have about 2 hours? Then you must pick up this book.

It is 134 pages and the type is big and the pages are small. It reads like a fable, and gives great depth in few words. Much like its characters, the Superiour Mutter and Homer Price (not the children's book Homer---) but a black man just out of the Army in the early 60's.

It is written by William Barett- I think this is one book it is worth having on the shelf for when people are ready to pick it up. And you can surely get it cheap at a used book store in the classics aisle. I read this aloud to my boys when they were about 9 and 12. They really enjoyed it.

Anyway, these two characters (with the other 4 nuns Mother lives with) meet in the desert near the Colorado Rockies. She wants a chapel built. He has the brawn and the conscience. They both have strong wills. Neither liked to be told what to do! On the story goes!

We also saw the movie, with Sydney Portier. This is one movie that cast the character just how I thought he looked in the book.

I am going to suggest it to my boys again. It really is lovely- and has the bite and depth of real people- the latinos who live in the poverty-stricken area, the strong German Mutter with her uncompromising tudor personality, the sweet nuns under her tutilage... and Homer, who is a black man in a white country, with a good heart but a stubborn streak.

I loved the part when he first met the tough Mutter Superior and thought she gave him a hard time, liked her. She didn't see his color. Just knew God sent him to build her church.

Read it on a lazy summer day.. out loud to the kids is even better!

The Dem's Turn

Anyone going to watch the democrats duke it out tonight on CNN?

Click here for details.

I watched the republicans debate with the boys last month and it generated quite a bit of discussion. I asked B (13) if he was going to watch the dems tonight. He didn't think so.

Why?

"Well, if there is one I think I would vote for, I might, but there isn't so I wont."

I told him he can't just go by what I say, maybe I am wrong and there is a candidate out there he needs to know about.


"Well, if any are for the issues in the Catholic Voter's Guide non-negotiable list, I will consider it. Let me know if there are. Otherwise I have other things to do and may or may not watch."

Well, he is right. Though I still think it is a good way to learn about the candidate, what makes them tick, how CNN presents the debate (always good for Media Analysis credits...) and how they can 'support' their positions.

By the way, we had trouble finding many republicans who met the non-negotiables list, either. Here it is if you are interested:
Catholic Voter Guide

I ordered a bunch of really nice pamplet guides from Lighthouse and displayed them at my parish. If anyone wants some for your parish, let me know and I will order them next time I otder. They are $13.50 per 50.

Well, I bet the boys watch a bit of the debate tonight... just out of curiousity! We enjoy seeing the people, then googling them to see what they say they believe. Sometimes that is a bit hard to nail down... part of the fun!

**UPDATE**

Ok. Marie, you and Bryan were right. This was a real bust.
They had nothing to say. Mrs. Clinton couldn't seem to answer any question constructivly, but just critisize and often rather personally, the current administration.

None of the candidates seem to have any 'weight' to them. Joe Biden got mad and started yelling once to make a point.. guess he thought he was on Hardball.

Gov Richardson kept trying to get a word in, but couldn't seem to.

Wolf Blitzer who moderated kept losing control and for some reason kept trying to get the candidate to all 'raise their hands' if they agreed with a statement. It made them look like schoolchildren, and Mrs. C got snippy about it.

The most professional one there, who was the best spoken and seemed to have the most substance was Obama. And I thought he would be the lightweight. Of course I agree with few of his positions.

Oh well.

I agree it is very early, but I enjoyed the republican debate because it introduced me to some players I had not know about before, in particular Brownback from Kansas who is Catholic and I think has a prolife position all the way. Plus I really wanted to hear Rudy try and explain his pro-death abortion stance.

Ok.. no more politics for while.

After 20 minutes I switched to TCM and The Wizard of Oz was on! It was much more poignant and relevant to my life. :)

"If I only had a brain....!" I love that song!

More Civil War

I am about 3/4 the way through Uncle Tom's Cabin.

Cay, when you pick it up again, let's discuss! Wow, I just find I want to talk about this book to others... there are so many aspects of it that intrigue me.
First, when/why it was written. It was written before the war, by a stanch Christian women who as trying to expose the evil of slavery by putting a human face to it. Boy did she succeed.

Many northerners were NOT against slavery. They did not fight the war to free the slaves. They fought it for the preservation of the Union and their nation and didn't particularly want the slaves freed. She was trying in part to reach those people and have them become sympathetic to the Abolitionists. Anyway, I could go on, but I won't..

Last night at dinner we got talking about this book. I could not help but give a narration to my men. But I wanted to hold back some of my opinions so they could form theirs when they read the book.

But, I was pressed to elaborate on one topic I mentioned, the rationalization that many professed Christian Southerners, notably preachers and ministers had for the institution of slavery. B especially pressed me on this.

I explained how Stowe would use characters in her books to express the various views, through dialog and action. I actually found it a bit obvious at times, but she did get her point across.

There were some Southerners who went to the Bible verses on God's order of things. How there are kings and queens, and workers and those lesser. How scripture says that slaves should be slaves and do their work well. (Please forgive me I don't have the chapter and verse and am paraphrasing.) They took this to justify the 'orderliness' of God and how all things are in their right place.

(In essence using selected Bible verses to back up their preferences.)

B says- "But what about the verse that says "The meek shall in inherit the earth?"

We all agreed.. and it led to further conversations about how today you will still see it.. professed Christains who will use selected Bible verses to back up their view points. Some which are not Christain.

And, then we got back to the beauty of the totality of the Catholic Church, which takes all scripture and tradition into account and give us guidance we can trust.

Plus, I made Cilantro Chicken for dinner (one of John's recipes) and it came out right! B made the rice and forgot if he got the ratio right (rice to water) but he did and it was perfect!

And S is now watching and enjoying the DVDs on the Civil War. But I am seeing they really are just an introduction to the whole era. There is so much there.

And last night dh told B that he may soon be a better expert on the Civil War than he (dh) is. That was quite a complement, as dh has loved history since a boy and took college level classes on this area at UT. I think B was pleased.

Ok.. off to get dressed for my workout. Have a great day, all.

Our Trail to the Civil War

Civil War Resources- Fall 2006- Winter 2007

Someone asked me about the things we found for the Civil War, so I thought I would post them here. We are still going.. I have a basket full of books/tapes/videos we are sorting through. If I find more gems I will add them.

The first four items were the centerpiece for us! The film that Ken Burns did was just extraordinary- and encompassed 5 DVDs that we have watched over and over.

We all loved Across Five Aprils, an historical fiction book written for older children.

Killer Angels was killer! The audio version we had told at the end of how the author got interested in Gettysburg and researched this book for 7 years. It is the story of a handful of players in the battle, Lee, Grant, Chamberlain, Longstreet and others. It is from their personal view and really brings history to life.

And the (audio) book of short stories really seemed to weave the history together for me. I find Stephen Crane a bit hard to understand and he wrote the first story, but the rest I had no problem with. Well, the last one was a doctor's account and got pretty graphic with the wounds he treated, etc, so I skipped that.

These are a mix of adult and children's things, and I put the ages by the ones that were not adult. Hope to add more later!

These combined with lots of discussion has been a great forray into the Civil War for us.

The Civil War- A Film by Ken Burns (PBS Documentary)- centerpiece (teen-adult)

The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara (audio narrated by George Hearn) Ages 12 and up

Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt (we enjoyed audio and print) Ages 10 and up.


The Little Regiment & Other Great Civil War stories [sound recording] / [edited by Martin Greenberg]
Stories included: The little regiment / Stephen Crane (David Ackroyd) -- The die-hard / Stephen V. Benet (William Windom) -- The brothers / Louisa May Alcott (Gabrielle de Cuir) -- One of the missing / Ambrose Bierce (Stefan Rudnicki) -- The valley was still / Manly Wade Wellman (Richard Gilliland) -- The unknown soldier / Kristine K. Rusch (Dan Musselman) -- The lamp of psyche / Edith Wharton (Amanda Karr) -- How Stonewall came back / James Warner Bellah (William Windom) -- The locket / Kate Chopin (Judith Cummings) -- The face / Ed Gorman (William Sanderson).


The Civil War- An Illustrated History (companion coffee table book to Ken Burns’ film)

The Civil War- A Narrative by Shelby Foote (teen- adult)- partial- a bit dry, but good after I had learned some background.

Bull Run by Paul Fleishman – Recorded Books, full cast. Ages 10 and up

Lincoln A PhotoBiography Russell Freedman (10 and up)

Great Battles of the Civil War- John MacDonald (coffee table book- computer aided graphic reconstruction of the battles)

Gettysburg – Movie based on Killer Angels book.

Killer Angels

I am sad I had to finish this book.

The Killer Angels written by Michael Sharra, read by George Hearn. The reader did an awesome job!

Oh, I do love history now. Killer Angels is a personal look at the Gettysburg battle in the US Civil War.

The author spent seven years researching it. It began as trip with his family, with thousands of other tourists that year, to the battlefield at Gettysburg. But something intrigued him. So he took off on a rabbit trail. No publisher, no advance, just his own desire to learn as much as he could.

He took his 17yos and had him dig through bushes and brambles to find plaques set there by historical societies. The son also had the job to write down all the names on each plaque, which Sharra took back to his home university library and through interlibrary loan read mounds of historical documents.

The result is a book that tracks some of the major (and minor participants) in the epic battle. I felt I knew Robert E Lee, General James Longstreet and Col. Chamberlain. Why did they fight? How did the handle the stress and dying? What was the real cause of the war?

The end of this audio book has a bonus.. an interview with the son about the book and his father- how he wrote and researched it. His dad unfortnately died early at age 59 in the 1980s.

Now B is listening to it and we are both hooked. It was funny, B got stuck in the beginning as did I.. but I kept going. And my enthusiam must have kept him going because now he has had the tape player attached to his body for most of the last 2 days. He is almost at the end. Nice to have this to share, too.

I love history- I love the people, the relationships and how life repeats itself. The thoughts these men had (or Sharra inferred they had) were not that different from thought we have today.

History is people.

Thinking About History

I have been thinking about history and how it has evolved in our house. Also how it has come to reflect the personality of our family. I must say, one of the benefits of homeschooling this long and having 'old' kids as I can look back and see how everything played out!

When the boys were younger we were mostly in Charlotte Mason mode, but I think really it was the Living Books and Atmosphere of the Home modes that were the gold. I think, to do it over, I would skip the daily lesson mode we got into around ages 9-11. That was were our difficulty stemmed. But the read alouds, projects, exploring... that was really fun.

Thinking back, I did not really know about unschooling then. Back then I did a lot of heavy duty strewing and it was perfect for us. I would get tons of picture books and we would read and read. As they got older, we got more involved in chapter books. Lots of DK and Usborne. Though I did plan it to 'cover' periods. We enjoyed a few weeks in the Middle Ages. I read from a spine book (Christ the King, Lord of History, A Child's History of the World, and others) But we had medievel feasts, built castles and had sword fights. What fun!

Would I do it the same way again? I think yes. I think I overdid a bit in some books I thought I had to pour in their heads.. :0.. there was a saturation point, but thinking back the forrays we had into history were nice because they connected the boys with the past. As CM said, don't worry about trying to give a complete survey, but help the child make friends in a deeper way with certain events or people.

I also read and believe that a child really can't grasp a timeline of history until well past 9 years old. So, luckily I let that go after spending hours tacking up a KONOS timeline in our basement when the boys were little bitty.

Oh, hindsight really is 20/20! Looking back I can see that the Classical folks have it right in the Trivium stages of development. I saw that Grammar stage when they just absorbed and absorbed everything we read, saw and did. Then came the Logic stage, where they begin putting it together. And now my 16 yo is delving into the Rhetoric stage and my 13yo is on the cusp. And it all has happened naturally- through lots of fuel and conversation.

Generally I don't consider history a strong point in our home. Well, my dh loves it. And I am beginning to love it, too. But my boys will tell you they don't. But I think that is because they are remembering the ill-assigned reading I gave them for a period and the read alouds that got too long. They also saw a lot of war and bad things happen. History is a lot of bad things, when you think about it. So, I have tried to look at the good things, too, especially through bios of admirable people.
Then see God's plan in it all. The bad stuff is the evil in the world, but there is also a lot of beauty and God's fingerprints are throughout all of time.

But, thinking about history in our home now, what I am finding is that it is playing out through the personality of our home. My husband loves history and current events, though does not systematicly discuss it with the boys, he does occasionally bring it up at the dinner table. I follow current events and feel as a Catholic I need to know and at least try to be aware of what is happening and the Catholic response. They hear us talk, they listen a lot and join in sometimes. It is rubbing off.

What I am seeing is that the current events and our life experiences is pulling history up from the past. For example, the Holy Father's speech about a dialog with the Muslims caused my dh and I to research and share with the boys. Through conversation we are learning more about the Muslim faith and the history of their presence in the world, as well as the Jewish people.

Or we will have a new Indian priest come and begin to reserach where he came from and the pieces will fit into larger picture of history that has developed over the years.

My husband has shared a lot about defending the faith and the history of Catholics and Protestants in past centuries.

Many other events/ideas have caused us to look at where we have been in the past and how it pulls forward to relate to today. Star Wars and LOTR have given us lots of jumping off points to talk about good and evil, facists and Hitler in particular.

I am still strewing, but am finding it interesting how a lot of our history is being explored from today -- and pulling history up to meet us. Not me just getting a book that is firmly set back in time and us trying to make sense of it.

I was listening to an excerpt from Pope Benedict's book The Salt of the Earth today. He was asked how he was so successful at teaching during that part of his life. He said that instead of just cobbling together lectures and lessons from textbooks, he would look at history and discover ways to make it relevant to his students today.

Maybe that is what we are doing in our own clumsy, Kelly way? :) Again, I hear Pope John Paul II's words: "Families, be who you are!" Maybe no other family would like doing things this way and in a way we just fell into it because of our personalities and interests. I read about families who are milking cows and cutting grain, or traveling, or doing a host of other interests, things that we would not be so great at. And they are learning history and all sorts of things, their way.

Sometimes I think often homeschoolers don't trust their family to set the tone. Often they think they have to be a 'perfect Catholic family' - read that: a family like that one over there. But how can we be who we are if we are trying to be something else? I speak here from experience... I have done just that.

Maybe our goal should be to emulate the Holy Family. Yes, a perfect goal. And since God created us so individually, won't that look slightly different as each family stirs around all the family members' personalities and interests in their individual family pot? Each stew will be unique! Just thinking outloud.
Also thinking that I am rather amazed that we are learning a lot of history. Who'd of thunk? :)
God Bless,
Cindy