Volition

Check out this incredible movie: Volition!


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Happy Veteran's Day!

Happy Veteran’s Day!

The book on the left, The Things They Carried, is the book my daughter’s English is reading next semester; the one on the right is – in my not so humble opinion – the book they should be reading! The former is a fictional account of our nation’s recent experiences in Vietnam; the latter is a generational saga about one family’s sense of honor and sacrifices for that honor and the country they love. The difference between the two books? The first takes the more politically correct view that American involvement in Vietnam was a nihilistic nightmare which should not have happened. And of course, the second book, Faith of My Fathers, is too (gasp) political since it happens to have been written by a United States Senator, John McCain, our defeated Republican candidate for President in the 2008 election, never mind that he is also a former Prisoner of War (POW) and a decorated Vietnam Vet.

FoMF is an incredible book.

Despite its title, Faith of My Fathers, has almost nothing to do with organized religion and everything to do with living an honorable life. The 'faith' Senator McCain is speaking about only becomes apparent on page 257 of the book and it is spelled with a small 'f', meaning 'keeping faith with one's brothers', in particular under the uniquely horrendous circumstances he faced as an American in a Vietnamese Prisoner of War camp in the 1960s.

For sentimental and/or personal reasons I was strongly inclined to give this book five stars. I was incredibly moved by Senator McCain's suffering on behalf of our country. I admire patriots, especially humble ones. In FoMF he constantly downplays his own torture and punishment, insisting he was spared what most of his comrades suffered because of his four star father.

Maybe he was and maybe he wasn't. It certainly didn't sound like he got off too easy. If you call two broken arms, a broken knee, bayoneted twice, deliberately getting your shoulder broken, starved, beaten, solitary confinement for years, tortured, interrogated, hung by your arms and broken bones going unset for months favorable treatment, well then I guess his famous father's position earned him some sort of 'special' status. I just didn't see it.

However, sympathy aside, the first half of the book is devoted to the history of Senator McCain's illustrious grandfather and father, both four star naval heroes in their own rights. And while I recommend this sort of reading to my sea-loving father and my military husband and father-in-law, it can get a bit tedious to someone with no military background. It does, however, give anyone who wants to understand John McCain an excellent background on his family, their history, values, mannerisms and relationships. Also, McCain is very upfront and honest about his own youthful misadventures and all the hard knocks he took as a result. I liked him all the more for his humor and candor.

I don't deny that I was prepared to like the book. I had seen the movie of the same name and knew what McCain suffered in Vietnam. Still I liked the book for more than just the facts of what happened; I liked it for the way it downplayed his actions and focused on his family and the men he served with. There were many little ways that the character of the author shone through his writing.

Ultimately FoMF is a story about the Code of Conduct and what it meant to a group of young men who were tested to the utmost of their human endurance. In particular, McCain highlights one young man who he says never wavered in his commitment to the Code and died for his efforts. McCain confesses his worst fear during his five year ordeal in these words:

'My first concern was not that I might fail God and country, although I certainly hoped I would not. I was afraid to fail my friends. I was afraid to come back from an interrogation and tell them I couldn't hold up as well as they had...Had I accepted that many of the others had surrendered their dignity voluntarily, had agreed to live with such reproachful self-knowledge, I doubt I would have resisted to the extent that I did, and thus I would probably not have recovered from the shame I felt when I was broken...Glory belongs to the act of being constant to something greater than yourself, to a cause, to your principles, to the people on whom you rely and who rely on you in turn. No misfortune, no injury, no humiliation can destroy it.' (pp. 256-257)

Unless we have experienced something of the magnitude of five years of systematic, unrelenting torture we can never know what it is like, but we can at least read about it, ponder it, value it and be grateful to the heroic patriots who have suffered and died for the sake of our country, for us. For most of America’s history, schools have required students to study her – and other – heroes. Now, for some reason, our children are forced to read books which tell them that the brave young men who died for them in Vietnam died in vain. What a travesty! What a lie!

This Veteran’s Day I’d like to set the record straight. No American soldier who ever suffered or died in any battle anywhere for his or her country suffered or died in vain. And I for one am most sincerely and humbly grateful!

If I was still homeschooling, my daughters would be reading Faith of My Fathers, not The Things They Carried. And believe me, they know it. God willing, they will read it someday.

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Come Holy Spirit

It doesn't seem possible, but it's true. Our little girl has grown into a young woman. It seems like only yesterday we were taking her to Father Good for Baptism . . . and then to Father Doyle for her First Holy Communion. Is it really true that she has taken her final step and become a fully initiated Catholic Christian? Yes, it is. The years have flown by, as everyone told us they would.

Here she is--our daughter, Margaret with Archbishop Eusebius Beltran of Oklahoma City. She chose St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross for her patron saint. She was confirmed at St. Philip Neri on the 30th of April 2008. It was a beautiful Mass and celebration of the sacrament! We were so grateful to be joined in this joyous occasion by all four of Meg's grandparents, her Aunt Patti and Aunt Julie, and numerous friends. We'd especially like to thank Meg's sponsor, Carla, for all of her support during the two year formation process.

We'd also like to thank those dear family and friends who were with us spirit and prayer. We certainly felt the strength of the Holy Spirit on this very special evening! God bless you all! We had an unexpected blessing. Michelle wanted to serve for her sister's Confirmation but thought she would be unable to because the servers had already been selected. Then at the last minute, a server dropped out and she was able to fill in. Thanks again to all who held us up in prayer and remembered Meg with cards and gifts; please know we will never forget you! May the Holy Spirit fill your hearts and your lives with the Light of His Love!

Peace and Blessings!

Rod, Cathy, Meg and Michelle

Lord of the Flies

by William Golding

Mr. Golding’s book is one of the most deeply disturbing books I’ve read in a long time. Here is a brief synopsis of the plot:

A group of young boys find themselves castaways on an uncharted tropical island either after or during a major war. Although initially the boys set up an orderly British society with rules and a just system of organization, Fear of the Unknown, turns into fear of an unknown beast and this quickly spreads and infects the group’s mindset. Eventually it takes on a symbolic as well as figurative "head", that of the decapitated head of a wild boar, slain by the boys and posted on a pike. Covered with flies, it becomes known as “The Lord of the Flies”, which is a literal translation of the name of the Hebrew Ba’ alzevuv (Beelzebub in Greek) a powerful demon in hell sometimes thought to be the devil himself.

As order breaks down, violence escalates and inevitably death ensues. How the boys deal with the decay of civilization and evolution of a true Darwinian ‘survival of the fittest’ form of existence is the remainder of the book. It’s a story of the Garden of Eden without any of the niceties of Scripture. Satan is there alright, but one wonders—where is the Lord God? And as the sins multiply, Eden just gets dirtier and yet there seems no escape but death.

So where was God on this non-Paradise island?

He was in the boy's original and pervading sense of order and decency. He was in their undying desire to be rescued from themselves. He was in the developing relationship of support and mutual affection which sprang up between Ralph and Piggy, but also extended to others in the original group; an unlikely, even impossible, friendship under circumstances less extreme than these. He was in the moral outrage (and even the denial) after things began to break down. He was in the loyalty of the twins, Samneric, or Sam 'n' Eric--so devoted to each other they were usually referred to by one name. And ultimately, He was in the voluntary nature of the forces of Good. Altruism can never be coerced, or it loses its very essence; the forces of tyranny which oppose it eventually have to resort to oppression and coercion tactics or lose their adherents. In other words, God was everywhere and ever present . . . whereas the Lord of the Flies . . . well, you need to read the book to find out what happens to him.

Mr. Golding’s view of mankind is bleak—depressing even, but not unduly so. And yet in today’s world—where the concept of sin seems to have all but disappeared—maybe it’s not such a bad thing to be reminded of our inescapable, inexplicable darker side . . . and where real Good truly lies . . . in and through God alone.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=JW4LLwkgmqA “The Church of Oprah Exposed” is an eye-opener. Thanks Mr. Golding! We need your book now as much as ever—maybe even more!

****1/2

The Court Jester - The Pellet With The Poison