Friday, March 5, 2010
An Ah Ha Moment
I am currently reading Battle Cry of Freedom--which I have found totally fascinating. (I loaded it and Killer Angels on my I-pod--it took just under 4 gigs). As you begin reading it do a little comparing and contrasting. If you took today's congress and executive branch and just changed the names from those of the 1850's there are some amazing parallels. It seems all we talk about is bi-partisanship and everyone out for their own interests. We are currently re-working those years just prior to the Civil War--are we destined to repeat it? ("Those who forget history are condemned to repeat it." George Santayana) There is a bill before our own state legislature, Joint Resolution--State Sovereignty and Tenth Amendment: Chief sponsor: Howard A. Stephenson--which follows the footsteps of 11 other states who have passed "Sovereignty" laws and resolutions. Whether you believe the Civil War was fought over "states rights" or "slavery" history is repeating itself. Just a thought. Then as an afterthought, think about what the U.S. Congress was able to achieve when all the "Southern Democrats" left and
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Mark,
ReplyDeleteGood parallels on the historical comparisons as we certainly are in a polarized political atmosphere today. I like the i-pod option as I need to resume my walking regimen now that the weather is getting better. I need to build up the stamina for the trip's active agenda.
I just finished "Killing Angels" and was left with an empty feeling much like when I visited Mt. Saint Helens after she erupted. There was no life anywhere and everything was this morbid gray color. Although Sharra writes in such a discriptive way that I felt like I was right there on the battle field, I can not imagine either how it looked after the battle or the feelings envalved in the battle. I look forward to actually being at the battle site and experiencing what it is like today.
ReplyDeleteSharon,
ReplyDeleteI know exactly how you feel. A couple of years ago, I read a book called The Gettysburg Gospel. The first part of the book talked about all the devastation at Gettysburg and what they were leaving behind as the armies pulled out of that tiny little town and what the people had to to in order to cope with what they had just witnessed. (It was amazing all the they had to do, just to put their town together again.) It had been really difficult to imagine at first, but as the author, Gabor Boritt, described the scenes, I not only gained a better understanding of what truly had happened there, but I was left feeling very empty. It was so hard to accept and carnage and devastation that had occurred in the midst of that small Pennsylvania town.
I was able to find Battle Cry of Freedom available for Kindle. Making it a little easier to carry!
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