Posted on Feb 17, 2020
Amazon.com: Land of Hope: An Invitation to the Great American Story (9781594039379): Wilfred M....
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https://www.amazon.com/Land-Hope-Invitation-Great-American/dp/ [login to see] /ref=sr_1_1?crid=J231D5EP8PTB&keywords=land+of+hope+wilfred+mcclay&qid= [login to see] &sprefix=land+of+hop%2Caps%2C200&sr=8-1
Another member of RP posted a link to the 1619 Project, an assault on the history of the United States intended to pave the way for fundamental change, prompting me to counter with this recommendation for Wilfred McClay's book "Land of Hope". As a proud American, I feel compelled to defend our civilization from unwarranted, unjustified, unscrupulous attacks with the same vigor that I swore to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.
Not only do I side with McCaley in his love of nation, but also agree with his approach. I am a storyteller as well as an avid amateur historian, and see the two avocations as inextricably linked. Or, as McClay writes...
"Professional historical writing has, for a great many years now, been resistant to the idea of history as narrative. Some historians have even hoped that history could be made into a science. But this approach seems unlikely ever to succeed, if for no other reason than it fails to take into account the ways we need stories to speak to the fullness of our humanity and help us orient ourselves in the world."
I well remember the "science of history" that was doled out in my school days (and from what I can tell it hasn't gotten any better). Learning names and dates by rote may have simplified grading tests for teachers who only had to compare papers with answer keys for true/false and multiple choice or fill in the blank quizzes, but it left out what was important, the meat of the subject. How can such unrelated bits and pieces of history convey meaning? Or, as McCaly writes...
"For the human animal, meaning is not a luxury; it is a necessity. Without it, we perish. Historical consciousness is to civilized society what memory is to individual identity. Without memory, and without the stories by which our memories are carried forward, we cannot say who, or what, we are. Without them, our life and thought dissolve into a meaningless rush of events."
...which is precisely what the progressive Left wants. Once the population loses the anchor of its history, they can then reshape us from citizens into subjects of their Utopian nightmare.
Incidentally, McCaly is presenting a free on line course based on his book. It's hosted on the Hillsdale College website at: https://online.hillsdale.edu/
Please accept this, not so much as a recommendation, but rather as an invitation to rediscover America in our past so that we can better understand our present and prepare for our future. Hopefully, you will then be better prepared when your children and grandchildren confront you with the hatred and shame of our past that they learn in school and in the popular culture. Remember, you are a part of that past and will not escape their derision.
Another member of RP posted a link to the 1619 Project, an assault on the history of the United States intended to pave the way for fundamental change, prompting me to counter with this recommendation for Wilfred McClay's book "Land of Hope". As a proud American, I feel compelled to defend our civilization from unwarranted, unjustified, unscrupulous attacks with the same vigor that I swore to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.
Not only do I side with McCaley in his love of nation, but also agree with his approach. I am a storyteller as well as an avid amateur historian, and see the two avocations as inextricably linked. Or, as McClay writes...
"Professional historical writing has, for a great many years now, been resistant to the idea of history as narrative. Some historians have even hoped that history could be made into a science. But this approach seems unlikely ever to succeed, if for no other reason than it fails to take into account the ways we need stories to speak to the fullness of our humanity and help us orient ourselves in the world."
I well remember the "science of history" that was doled out in my school days (and from what I can tell it hasn't gotten any better). Learning names and dates by rote may have simplified grading tests for teachers who only had to compare papers with answer keys for true/false and multiple choice or fill in the blank quizzes, but it left out what was important, the meat of the subject. How can such unrelated bits and pieces of history convey meaning? Or, as McCaly writes...
"For the human animal, meaning is not a luxury; it is a necessity. Without it, we perish. Historical consciousness is to civilized society what memory is to individual identity. Without memory, and without the stories by which our memories are carried forward, we cannot say who, or what, we are. Without them, our life and thought dissolve into a meaningless rush of events."
...which is precisely what the progressive Left wants. Once the population loses the anchor of its history, they can then reshape us from citizens into subjects of their Utopian nightmare.
Incidentally, McCaly is presenting a free on line course based on his book. It's hosted on the Hillsdale College website at: https://online.hillsdale.edu/
Please accept this, not so much as a recommendation, but rather as an invitation to rediscover America in our past so that we can better understand our present and prepare for our future. Hopefully, you will then be better prepared when your children and grandchildren confront you with the hatred and shame of our past that they learn in school and in the popular culture. Remember, you are a part of that past and will not escape their derision.
Amazon.com: Land of Hope: An Invitation to the Great American Story (9781594039379): Wilfred M....
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American History
Posted 5 y ago
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