Just ahead of
Massachusetts’ beginning to collect sales tax from Amazon this
month, I ordered “Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims” by Rush
Limbaugh, planning to quickly read it then send it to the grandtwins
in time for Thanksgiving.
I still think it was a
great idea, to create a history book for children using time-travel
and a magic horse named Liberty, and this would probably be a fine
gift for younger children, but I can’t send it to my 12-year-olds
because — how to say this — it’s not quite up to their standards.
Maya read the entire Harry Potter series before she was 10; I
discovered the first Percy Jackson & the Olympians book (about the
modern-day children of the Greek gods) on a sale table and sent it
fo Aidan, who devoured the rest of the series; we all read “The
Hunger Games,” and I sent them James Patterson’s “Witch and Wizard.”
All of these are about young people fighting evil, whether Lord Voldemort or a government that has grown too powerful.
I’d also like my
grandchildren to see American history through the eyes of a
conservative, if only to balance what they’ll eventually learn in
college, but, unfortunately, that conservative conservative writer probably
shouldn’t be Rush Limbaugh, who somehow made himself the hero on the
horse. I say this as an admiring regular listener to his radio show,
which is the day job he definitely shouldn’t give up in an attempt
to channel J.K.Rowling.
But this book-search
exercise got me thinking. The original Thanksgiving story was
interesting enough to my generation; I never tired of
hearing about
Miles Standish, Squanto and Massasoit, Priscilla and John. I read a
lot, but was happy with human children like the Bobbsey Twins and
later, teenagers Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys. My favorite book was
“Anne of Green Gables.” None of these, saved on my bookshelves all
these many years, appealed to my grandchildren.
And yet they read
extensively, first at home then as part of the national Accelerated
Reader program in their Nevada middle school. Students read
school/town library or their parents’ books, which they can choose
themselves. After they read they are asked a series of quiz
questions and then are given points dependent on the level of the
reading: “The Hunger Games” for instance, is 20 points.
One thing for which
I’ve been most thankful is the gift of books, which have given me
not only pleasure but a world-view beginning with my very first
favorite, “The Little Red Hen.” I never tired of coaxing my mother
to read, one more time, the simple story of the hen who couldn’t get
anyone in the barnyard to help her plant and harvest the wheat, and
was therefore entirely justified in refusing to share the bread with
anyone but her own little chicks. This was a good introduction to
Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged” when I approached adulthood. My parents
read me Aesop’s Fables, which were also a series of morality
lessons. I read them in turn to my son, who has successfully passed
them on.
As we discussed this
column, Lance (named from my King Arthur books) reminded me to
include the lessons taught by Dr. Seuss and Ray Bradbury, which we
both absorbed and have shared with our next generation. However, he
now tells me that his favorite childhood book, given to him by his
Navy dad, was “The Biggest Glupmaker in the U.S. Navy.” This may be
where the kid picked up a valuable “playful with authority" skill
that should keep him from being too impressed by government. I’m
happy to report that he just enjoyed David McCollough's “1776,”
which should balance Howard Zinn’s negative perspective on American history that
he picked up somewhere.
My granddaughter
recommends a John Green book about teenagers with cancer, who
indulge in the black humor that she enjoys. Aidan is reading about
zombies. He tells me that many kids his age are as likely to be
playing video games as reading, which does not encourage my happy
hopeful theme here. Nevertheless:
The federal “Common
Core” education program may encourage reading Barack Obama’s
biography and otherwise enhance public school support for Big
Government, but it’s important to remember that parents still have
some influence. Along with encouraging charter schools and vouchers,
we should utilize our power to encourage books that take our
children in a different direction.
Note the popularity of
the “Hunger Games” books and films, in which young people are
learning to fight Big Government, which I learned from Ayn Rand’s
“Anthem” in 1961 and my partner Chip Ford learned from “The Sentinel
Stars” by Louis Charbonneau in 1963.
Never mind “1984” which
just scares us all. We can be thankful that the real 1984 came and
went during the Reagan years, and if written today would look more
like “The Matrix” movie or any number of anti-Big Government
television series. The common culture, which we often deplore, for
good reason, does use the drama of revolution to keep all age groups
aware of threats to our freedom. This is one thing to be grateful
for as we count all our blessings tomorrow.
