Today was a satisfying day. I stayed away from the politics of the moment and spent most of the day with homeschooling my oldest daughter and corraling my youngest two to get their homework done. Homeschooling my 13 year old has been both tough and rewarding. I question whether we are doing the right thing for her. But then I remember how stressed she was at school and how little help she got from the school itself. Well, let me re-phrase that. She received help via RSP but at the end it was doing more harm than good. She is probably a little under a year behind her peers in school but she is retaining so much more.

 

Today we spent a major portion of the day going over the Renaissance and why it was important. It seemed pretty boring to her. But it wasn't until I got into the subject that I remembered just how important this period was and what it did for us today. When I look around and see the people I work with on a daily basis it dawns on me that the younger generations are learning less and less about western civilization and how we got to where we are today. To them life begins at Nixon and the evil that he wrought upon this earth. How we must follow the European or Canadian model. That the Iranians are just misunderstood and just need to be conversed with in reasonable language and all will be well. I fear for them and I fear for us. When opportunities present themselves I try to show my children why the Greeks mattered. Why the stand that the Spartans and Thespians made against the Persians is why we have our government today. Why Johannes Gutenberg was so important. That without the printing press most of us would still be in thrall to a monarch or dictator. This was stuff that was known by my contemporaries 35 years ago but is missing today. It is my hope that boomers such as I will be able to leave a lasting gift to our children or grandchildren by re-awakening our knowledge of western civilization and passing it to them. Maybe, just maybe, that will make up for the destruction the boomers have rained down on our educational system and a new Renaissance can begin.

I have been in country for many years. When I arrived it was an area of safety. People were of the life that I left. Independent, self sustaining, keep government away from me type of people. I and many of my fellows fell asleep over the years. We got cozy. We thought it would stay the same. We began to wake up when a dunderheaded leftist was elected in the heart of the green zone. Her re-election was a klaxon. Through my years long recon of the area I have found that the schools are where it starts. The people who teach our children are by and large sheep of low intellect that emit forth their hatred of all things American. They teach our kindergarteners that saying God is disrespectful to those that don't believe. Our grade schoolers that the pledge of allegiance is hurtful to the illegals that come to our country. To our high schoolers that anyone on an election ballot with a (R) after their name is a buffoon.

 

I work in the midst of a liberal enclave in country. I have begun to use the tactics that my Marine brothers used in Vietnam with great success (until the army took over the show and changed tactics). The winning of hearts and minds by living in the jungle, in the villages, with the people who suffer the most. Through example, conversation and guile I work with them one at a time. I talk about their positions. I engage them when outlandish statements are made. Never raising my voice. Never giving an inch. Slowly but surely the lights begin to come on. Not in all of them but it only takes a few. If the thought button gets pressed they begin to listen to what their personal heroes and peers say and are beginning to question all that they have been taught.

 

Show by example. Engage with quiet determination. Shine the light on demagoguery. Win their hearts and minds.

Semper Fi

The Hidden American