A Treasury of Epic Stories: Making History Exciting and Relevant
Dinner Topics for Tuesday
Dinner Talk Question: How do you make history exciting and relevant? We have before us the splendid adventure of exploring with our families the vast treasure trove of fascinating forgotten epic stories in our rich American heritage. The heroes and villains, as well as events put into motion by the choices of these individuals, are as thrilling as any popular fantasy of today.
How do you make history exciting and relevant?
Recently a teacher called in to a radio talk show and
informed us that history was being removed from school curricula. It seems that
history is being sacrificed for political agenda. I thought, how sad. Now our
kids are going to be more detached than ever from their heritage. But then,
years ago, when I was in school (and I am a grandmother), the history books
were boring anyway. Moreover, they were loaded with falsehoods. It is past time
that we parents and grandparents reclaim our rightful role as conveyers of our
heritage and values to our children, and not just the young ones. Young adults
have also been deprived of facts about the epic heroes in our heritage. Most of
the great epic heroes were taught privately or at home, anyway. And some very
great brains were kicked out of school.
Voices from the Past
Teach Us Today
So we have before us the splendid adventure of exploring
with our families the vast treasure trove of fascinating forgotten epic stories
in our rich American heritage. The heroes and villains, as well as the events
put into motion by the choices of these individuals, are as thrilling as any
popular fantasy of today. In fact, when you learn how much these voices from
the past can influence your future, all the pulp fiction will be languishing in
the dustbin.
Where to begin? First of all, we’ll start collecting banned
books. That’s already starting to sound exciting. What kinds of books are
banned by the State Religions (atheism and Islam)?
1) The Bible, the Book of Mormon, and any other forms of
Judeo-Christian scripture.
2) Accurate
biographies of the Founding Fathers, because those men were (ahem) religious.
3) Any classic literature that teaches the values we cherish
These and many others did not make it past the cutting room
floor of moral relativism in government schools. Let’s create an ongoing book
list of the fascinating forgotten epic stories.
Epic Heroes in
Training
So, Parents, as mentors of the rising generation, how do you
make history relevant? As exciting as these stories are, if we don’t learn how
to apply them to our day, then we can’t be the epic heroes we need to be, and
rescue our sacred and endangered heritage. We’ve got to think!
Here is our strategy. Truth will be our headlight, so we can
see to lead the train of rising generations down the right tracks into a future
of peace and liberty. In the vast treasury of epic stories that comprise
history, select and examine meaningful events or “moments” in ancient, early
American, and modern times. You will see patterns emerge.
Yes, history does repeat itself, because human choices, good
and bad, have consequences. Find the
heroes (who promote liberty), and the villains (who destroy freedom). Compare
the consequences of choices by individuals from each era, then do an analysis
based on the causes and effects of the events given. Don’t underestimate the
imagination and intelligence of young adults to connect the dots. They love a
challenge and a puzzle. This is great practice in problem-solving, and builds
effective leaders. Hang on, here we go!
Copyright 2011 © by Christine Davidson
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