Book Review: The Miracle of Freedom

Individual freedom, democracy, and the rule of law are under wider assault in the West, including the USA, than at any time since at least World War II. In Europe, especially the United Kingdom (formerly known as "Great" Britain), an irresistible tide of political correctness has led to the suffocation of personal freedom under national and local laws "protecting" (read: promoting) favored interest groups such as homosexuals and atheists, as well as to a paralysis of police and the courts to deal effectively with mobs of "protesters" and a horde of immigrants demanding the adoption of "sharia law." In the United States, we have a federal administration bent on seizing and expending (directly and indirectly) unprecedented, ever-growing amounts of private wealth; requiring individual citizens to purchase products and services they do not want; extending government surveillance and control to every aspect of citizens' lives; declaring and implementing its own policies through executive order regardless of Congressional will; and going to war against the states to prevent them from dealing with critical problems of immigration, health care, environmental control, education, and threats to the family such as abortion and same-sex marriage.

These developments would be more actively resisted if citizens better appreciated how dearly bought, and how fragile and fleeting, freedom and democracy have been in history. Providing that awareness is the mission of authors Chris and Ted Stewart in their recent book The Miracle of Freedom: Seven Tipping Points That Saved the World (available from publisher Deseret Books and from Amazon.com, among other outlets). Released in June, 20011, the book has been as high as to No. 2 on Amazon's best-selling list and reached No. 11 on the New York Times' Top 25 best-selling nonfiction and e-book lists.

According to the authors, less than 5 percent of all people who have ever lived on the earth (and most of those being persons who are still alive today) have lived under conditions that today could be considered “free.” The "miracle" is that there have even been that many, given the terrible weight of flawed human nature throughout history.

The authors define "freedom and democracy" according to the following five criteria: self-government; fundamental rights; equal dignity and opportunity of persons; commitment to justice; and commitment to the rule of law. The authors then discern from the human record a series of critical events or "forks in the road" that, had they happened differently or not at all, would or could have resulted in the extinction of any hope that the ideals of freedom and self-government might be realized.

• The defeat of the Assyrians in their quest to destroy the kingdom of Judah
• The victory of the Greeks over the Persians at Thermopylae and Salamis
• Roman Emperor Constantine’s conversion to Christianity
• The defeat of the armies of Islam at Poitiers
• The failure of the Mongols in their effort to conquer Europe
• The discovery of the New World
• The Battle of Britain in World War II

The book describes and analyzes these events, each chapter accompanied by a fictionalized but well-written and engaging "you are there" portrait of individuals at the time--most of them common people--who might have participated in or been immediately affected by these events. In addition to a concise narration of what transpired, each chapter explores what led up to and resulted from the event, and how the future of human liberty would have been changed--or snuffed out altogether--had the outcome been different. Some of these positive outcomes were fantastically improbable, such as the survival of Judah against the Assyrian onslaught, the Greeks' defeat of the Persian hosts at Thermopylae and Salamis, and even Britain's triumph against the mighty Luftwaffe in 1941-1942. As the authors observe, "Many of these critical forks in the road occurred thousands of years before the event would bear the fruit of freedom. Some have happened in modern day. All of them were necessary for the world to enjoy the sudden expansion of free governments that we see today."

Chris and Ted Stewart

The authors' selection of these historical "tipping points" seems driven by the correct premise that the concepts of freedom and democracy--as they came down to us over the generations and as we understand and enjoy them today--sprang from the marriage of Judaic theology and Greek philosophy. Thus, the extinction of those early civilizations or of their successors in Europe would have prevented the survival and realization of these ideals in modern times. Inevitably, minds clouded by conventional and politically-correct views will complain that historical Judaism and Christianity bred regimes that made endless war and often cruelly oppressed, rather than liberated, individuals (free-thinkers, women, and homosexuals, for example) and colonial peoples as well as their own. The authors of Miracle of Freedom do not dispute the guilt of those Western "leaders" who perverted Judeo-Christian principles to serve selfish ends, but stress that the fault lay not with the principles themselves, or with the cultures that spawned them, but with the inescapable flaws of human nature:

[T]hough they may seek to represent the ideal, no nation or institution is ever pefect. All cultures and religious institutions are occupied by mere mortals, making them subject to all the frailties of men. And the simple fact that they do seek the ideal, ironically, opens them up to charges of hypocrisy and scorn. Second, often these are not only multigenerational but multimillenial institutions. Their stories may stretch over thousands of years. During the passing of so many centuries, every nation or institution will have its ups and downs, experiencing high points of moral leadership, but low points of decadence as well.

This being the case, wouldn't it be unfair--and historically inaccurate--to judge a nation or institution on only one episode in its history or during one particular span of time?

In our story, we also have to recognize the difference between the leaders or members of the Christian faith and Christian doctrine. The shortcomings of one may not accurately reflect the value of the other. Indeed, history shows that there have been times when the teachings of Christianity remained an ally to the development of freedom even when the Christian church did not.

Reading The Miracle of Freedom, one is struck by how improbable was the birth, survival, and eventual flourishing of freedom and self-government; how long that process took; how much it owed to the heroism and self-sacrifice of a relative few individuals; and how fragile those ideals are in a world ever tending to corruption and madness. As Mssrs. Stewart point out:

[D]emocracy and freedom are very fleeting—they can be possessed and then lost. A nation might be democratic for a period of time and then, through spasms of internal strife or war, revert to despotism. Over the past 225 years this has been shown again and again to be true, the tides of democracy causing many nations to sample and then lose the great gifts of freedom and democracy. The experience of Germany prior to World War I, immediately thereafter, and then during the reign of Hitler is a graphic example of this truth.
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For those of us living in the United States, a nation that has experienced more than two hundred years of unparalleled liberty, it is easy to take for granted the extraordinary gifts we have been given. And for most of us, it is much easier to become lackadaisical about these gifts than it is for the inhabitants of other nations who are forced to struggle every day in their battle for liberty. In fact, unless we are serious students of world history, or have traveled extensively, we might not recognize how unique the blessings of liberty actually are.

We should all remember this lesson, in this time of grave peril to liberty here in the USA and around the world.

The Miracle of Freedom is written with the common person, not the professional historian, in mind (though it certainly can appeal to the latter). Most of it reads more like a historical novel than an analytical text. It is an absorbing and highly informative work, and would make an excellent Christmas or Hanukkah gift.

Movie Review: Julie & Julia

If you love to cook, this movie is for you. If you love to eat, this movie is for you. If you love to write, this movie is for you. If you're simply passionate about anything or anyone, this movie is for you!

It's called Julie & Julia, and Melany and I caught it over this past weekend. I hadn't even heard of the film until I saw a commercial for it during a TV movie Melany was watching Thursday night. She showed some interest and I nobly offered to go see it with her, as a birthday present. It looked like a thoroughgoing chick flick, and I didn't really think that I would get that much out of it. But I did, in spades!

Here's the intro to the film from Internet Movie Database:

Based on two true stories, Julie & Julia intertwines the lives of two women -- master chef Julia Child [played by Meryl Streep], who arrives in post-war Paris with a passion for food, and modern-day frustrated secretary Julie Powell [played by Amy Adams], who decides to cook her way through Child's classic cookbook -- who though separated by time and space, are both at loose ends... until they discover that with the right combination of passion, fearlessness and butter, anything is possible.

To be more specific, Julie commits herself to prepare every one of the 524 recipes in Julia's Mastering the Art of French Cooking, in 365 days. She intends this initially as a release from the relentless pressures of her temp job with a 9/11 claims agency, but ultimately as a way to make herself follow something through to the end, and hopefully grow in the process. An aspiring writer with one half-finished novel to her credit, she also decides to write a blog about the experience (called The Julie/Julia Project; read it here), and labors through weeks of her Herculean task waiting for a comment (other than her mother's) to indicate that anyone at all is paying attention. Through it all she has only her easygoing, encouraging husband for moral support. Despite repeated setbacks, distractions, and disappointments, she finally completes the challenge she had set for herself and emerges with greater confidence and conviction of self-worth.

Through flash-backs and -forwards (which are clear, logically placed, and not confusing), Julie's story is woven with that of her inspiration Julia Child, who finds herself in post-war Paris with her diplomat husband Paul (played masterfully by Stanley Tucci), and nothing much to do. With his gentle encouragement, she finally decides to indulge her fondness for food by taking some cooking classes at the prestigious Cordon Bleu. Despite some amusing (to others) early foibles, she surprises her instructor, classmates, and herself with remarkable aptitude and enthusiasm for the work, and the beautiful loving relationship between her and Paul grows ever deeper. She makes friends with a pair of "real" French cooks (chefs?) who ask her to help them "Americanize" the cookbook they're working on, and she eventually becomes the driving force behind what would become, years later, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. The viewer shares with her and Paul the disappointments, trials, and ultimate triumph of Julia's struggle to keep the cookbook project going and get it published. The final scene between them is as amusing and touching as I've ever seen in a movie.

Julie & Julia is beautifully filmed, dripping in warm, rich colors befitting a tribute to great food and great cooking. You feel personally present in the Paris buildings, streets, homes, shops, and restaurants where most of the Childs' story takes place. The kitchens depicted in the film--even the tiny, worn-out one in the Powells' walk-up apartment--are classic and inviting. The food being prepared and savored before your eyes is beyond description; you can practically taste it through the screen. Go see the movie BEFORE dinner; you'll enjoy your meal, whatever it is (ours was hamburgers and fries--at least they were French), that much more with such a magnificent "appetizer"!

But this film is about much more than just food. It's almost as much about the trials and tribulations of writing, blogging, and publishing--things I can relate to quite personally! On a deeper level, it's about the search for meaning, confidence, and fulfillment in one's life. Perhaps without intending, it's also about love--of food and cooking, of course, but especially about love between men and women who are "there" for each other through every moment of adversity, doubt, discouragement, and elation. The film makes clear that neither Julie nor Julia could have accomplished what they did without their patient, encouraging, loving spouses (the relationship between Paul and Julia Child, which began in middle age, is depicted with special warmth and grace, and should become a cinema classic).

So, enjoy Julie & Julia with your significant other and a hearty appetite. You won't go away hungry!

P.S. Be forewarned: there is one gratuitous "F" word in this film, and a couple of "S" words. I simply don't understand why such things are done in a movie like this. Is Hollywood so terrified of PG and G ratings (Disney excepted) that they have to make an otherwise beautiful film inappropriate for viewing by anyone under age 14? Are they afraid that adults won't think it's a "serious" movie unless it contains obscenities? Is foul language what makes something "sophisticated"? Anyway, if you can handle this relatively modest amount of bad language, Julie & Julia is still delicious!

Book Review: Pioneer Family

I recently finished reading a book that Mom loaned me a few months ago, Pioneer Family by Michel Oesterreicher. It's one of those books you never forget, one that so effectively pulls you in that you feel as though you lived in the times and events described, and know the characters personally. And in the timeless lessons it imparts, the book leaves you a little wiser and richer in understanding than before you read it.

The author, a lifelong resident and teacher in the Jacksonville Beach area, interviewed her parents, Hugie and Oleta Oesterreicher, about their past and the origins of their families over a number of months before they died in the late 1980s. The Oesterreichers and Browns (Oleta's) lived in rural northeast Florida, between St. Augustine and Jacksonville, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when most of that area was still an untamed frontier. The Oesterreichers lived in a cypress cabin on the edge of a great swamp, and there Hugie learned to herd cattle, hunt wild hogs and deer, cut palms (ever wonder where our Palm Sunday palms come from?), fight rattlesnakes and bears--and do everything he needed to survive and raise a family in this tangled wilderness. Oleta Brown grew up on a dairy farm near Pablo (now Jacksonville) Beach, and learned what it meant to sacrifice one's own dreams for the sake of the family. The book traces their lives from earliest childhood through adolescence and adulthood, and explores how even the joy of their marriage was fraught with difficult choices about their families and futures. In the course of the book you experience with them sickness and death, endless work, and the wonders of nature; how clothes were made and cleaned; how food was prepared; how to apply a poultice of boiled onions and make a soothing broth from dried chicken gizzards; and how you never went into the woods without a firearm with which, if you were quick enough, you could kill any rattlesnake you might step on. You also experience the miracle and agony of childbirth; the passing of parents; and the privations of the Great Depression (including how to make bootleg whisky with which to pay your family doctor). Through the book you even learn how the Oesterreichers and Browns experienced two world wars (including the sinking of a freighter by a German submarine off the Florida coast); coped with the end of the Florida wilderness; and adapted to vanishing ways of life, over and over again.

Pioneer Family is written in a rich and often poetic, but very readable style. Its descriptions of woods, swamps, beaches, animals and people are remarkably vivid, and pull you into the wold of northeast Florida in its waning, but still wild, wilderness days. If you seek inspiration in your own, modern, life, you'll ironically find it in this book about those who lived it to the fullest a century and more ago.

You can order the book directly from Amazon.com.