Barry Manilow is coming to the Houston Compaq Center on November 4th for his “One Night One Last Time Concert” sponsored by American Airlines. At the risk of losing my entire readership, I must admit that when I heard about this concert on the radio today, I thought that it sounded like fun. I haven’t thought about Barry Manilow in years, but “Copacabana” and “I Write the Songs” and “Can’t Smile Without You” and “Mandy,” well, again, it just sounds like fun. I probably won’t go, however. I’m sure I’d swallow my eyeteeth if I knew how much the tickets cost.

In a decadent society, this is what artists do with their God-given talent–or rather what they do with the God -given talent of others. Thanks to Dave Barry for the link.

Jacques Ellul is the most compelling analyst of this awful phenomenon, in his canonical essay Propaganda. He fingers schooling as an unparalleled propaganda instrument; if a schoolbook prints it and a teacher affirms it, who is so bold as to demur?

If a teacher says it is so, it must be so. If it is actually in print, it must be true. If the print or media journalists say so, it must be true. If I read it on the internet, it must be true. Actually, it’s a matter of convenience. I can’t possibly verify personally every bit of information that comes into my possession. However, I must consider carefully my sources. And I must consider the fact that my children are depending on me to provide them with truth and the ability to discern truth from falsehood. What a responsibility!

The Prussian mind, which carried the day, held a clear idea of what centralized schooling should deliver: 1) Obedient soldiers to the army;2 2) Obedient workers for mines, factories, and farms; 3) Well-subordinated civil servants, trained in their function; 4) Well-subordinated clerks for industry; 5) Citizens who thought alike on most issues; 6) National uniformity in thought, word, and deed.
It is Gatto’s thesis in this chapter that these are the ultimate goals of government schooling. Could this be any American parent’s dream for his or her child? I think not.

I do like some twentieth century authors–just not the ones they assign in school. Leon Uris was born on this date in 1924. I read Exodus a long time ago as a teenager, and I’ve revisited it more than once. I probably get my attitude about Israel and the Palestinian problem more from this book than from Biblical prophecy. Uris paints a detailed, pro-Israeli panaorama of the beginnings of modern Israel. Then, there are the other two “Jewish books” by Uris that I’ve read–Mila 18, about the Warsaw ghetto during World War II, and QB VII, another memorable novel about the Holocaust. Researching Uris on the internet, I see that he’s written several books that I haven’t read. I’ll have to add some of them to the legendary “books to read list.” Also, I’ve never seen the movie Exodus which stars Paul Newman as Ari Ben Canaan and Eva Marie Saint as Kitty Fremont. Maybe I shoud skip it since kirjasto says that “Uris publicly declared that the director (Otto Preminger) had ruined his book.” Leon Uris died in June, 2003.
P.D. James also celebrates a birthday today. She was born in 1920 and created a British peer in 1991. Her title is “Baroness James of Holland Park.” James is a writer of detective novels, and her detective/protagonist Adam Dalgliesh is an intriguing character. He’s a Scotland Yard detective and also a poet. The moral component of James’ novels is central to their interest and literary quality. All James’ characters must deal with sin and its effects, and in reading about them I am forced to confront the results of sin and evil in my own life. Sounds rather unpleasant, but instead it’s thought-provoking and satisfying. If you’d like to read more about P.D. James as a Christian novelist, Ralph Wood, professor at Baylor University has this article called “The Case for P.D. James as a Christian Novelist.”

From chapter 4 of Underground History of American Education:

Bringing children up properly is a helix sport forcing you to realize that no boy or girl on earth is just like another. If you do understand this you also understand there can exist no reliable map to tell you all you need to do. Process kids like sardines and don?t be surprised when they come out oily and dead. In the words of the Albany Free School, if you aren?t making it up as you go along, you aren?t doing it right.

How true. As the parent of eight very different children, I often wish there were a plan, a set of rules, some kind of guidebook. It’s scary to realize that I’m making it up as I go along. However, I really believe that’s what we have to do. Yes, the Bible has principles and examples to help us figure it out. But when Karate Kid tells me he wants to be a spy when he grows up, and spies have to trick people to do their job, I’m the one who has to decide to (a)laugh, (b)affirm his ambition, or (c) encourage him to become a doctor instead. When Computer Guru Son wants to spend all day every day playing video games, the Bible doesn’t tell me specifically what to do. I have to pray and then decide, making it up as I go along with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. However, I did realize something this morning: I am not responsible for how these children “turn out.” God is at work, and they make choices. They are responsible before Him. All I have do is trust and obey the Lord to the best of my ability.