As I sit here on this fine sunny Hawaiian morning, I feel uncertain that I will find the right words to share. I sit, surrounded by books, a fat cat and morning sounds rustling through the house. While finishing Geraldine Brooks’ wonderful People of the Book, I was overwhelmed by the realization that, while I may have enjoyed the story simply because I love books, my pleasure in reading it was immeasurably increased by my recent intense study of history. Only because I had listened to The Teaching Company’s lectures about medieval European history could I grasp the place names and religious/political details so rich in this book. Al-Andalus, Moorish, pogrom, Venice, even the basic grasp of geography I now am so thankful to have, are all things my mind only recently comprehends — thanks to my efforts to learn about the world beyond my little America.
How do I share this love of learning and deep sense of importance to those around me… especially the youth? Ignorance… that seems to be the word of the day. The more I learn, the more I become aware of how ignorant I have been. I am lucky — I can pinpoint the time when I caught a glimpse of how ignorant I was… me, the one who scored better than 95-99% of America’s high school graduates on the G.E.D. What the hell is up with that? Anyhow, my aha! moment came while watching Joaquin Phoenix’s portrayal of Commodus killing his father “Caesar” in the film Gladiator. As the emperor Marcus Aurelius was being suffocated by his son, I turned to David and said “But I thought Brutus killed Caesar!?” My ex-husband, a bit of a history buff, looked at me in disbelief and informed me that there was more than one Caesar. Stunned, I began to study. Soon I was reading the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, and the Golden Sayings of Epictetus but then my interest waned.
Early this year, my son Alex and I travelled for a month in France and Italy. We stayed with wonderful strangers who quickly became friends (see www.couchsurfing.org for more detail). While planning the journey I had to confront my profound ignorance about the geography, let alone the history, of Europe. Aside from being able to name a few countries I realized I didn’t realize how densely packed and close everything is there. Why bombs in Sarajevo would matter to an Italian… and a German… or any European… or African…. or Israeli… or Palestinian….or… anyway, you get the idea.
I realize I am drifting here, finding it hard to speak clearly define my deepest hope… concern… fear. Please join with me and learn, read, listen, ask and care. Otherwise we are destined to keep repeating the horrible tragic cycles recorded in thousands of years of our histories. Read People of the Book, enjoy it but then learn more about the places and people and stories you will be exposed to as you turn those pages. Then find ways to share that knowledge. Inspire others to learn and to see why it matters to us today.
I will stop for now. Perhaps I will return to edit these lines later. For now, you are left with my raw thoughts of the morning. A glimpse of what is on my mind today. A glimmer of my concern for the future of our youth and why a broad, liberal education (look up the word “liberal” – I don’t mean anything political by it) is crucial for as many kids as we can reach, regardless of whether they plan to be dentists or auto mechanics.
Peace.
