It's a Friday show. Usually these are soft. We'll see.
(I type while I watch. It's messy. It's part of a bigger project that may or may not pan out. If you think it's lame, don't read it.)
I'm on a weird Pro Palin kick, and I sorta want to just read about her instead of watching Beck today. Oh well. On a similar note, I don't think I'm gonna make it to the R Convention next summer. I want the real race to start NOW. All of the talking about who might run and who could or couldn't win is killin' me. I need to read up and find out if/when the deadline is for announcing that you're running. I betcha $100 that Palin announces one day prior.
DooDoodadodaaa
Hello America. Welcome to a special edition. He's sitting with the Founding Father's pic behind him. Mentions some early America data, women would vote, blacks were judges, etc.
Clips of reactions too old series. Old way of teaching history = deconstructionism, teach the negatives. Now clips of old FF shows. IS THIS A CLIP SHOW??
Women of theRevolution show -- what took many by surprise -- that women could vote. (I knew that!) States gave women voting rights. Property ownership = right to vote, so that's how they got it. Most women were voting Federalist. Anti-Federalists wiped them out when they had the power to do so. Also surprising, some women served in military. Shows pic of an Eowyn. Another one, Molly Pitcher. At the end, she was commmissioned as a ,<rank>, given military funeral.
Black FFs -- Slavery was there, but also in elected office, millitary leaders. Battle of bunker hill painting = bunch of white guys. unless you know where to look. points to Peter Salem, a black guy, who was the hero of the battle (doesn't look it in the painting). Battle of lexington pic. Rev Jonas Clark church, called together boys, said "let's go! defend our town!" it was a mixed church, equal # black/white. not shown in painting. washington crossing delaware -- there are black guys. prince whippple. marquis de lafayette. black guy standing next to him, this guy is james armisted. he was a double spy, may have won the war.
The point isn't so much that this stuff happened, but that we are intentionally NOT teaching this information to people. WHY?
First black judge. He was the other guy riding with Paul Revere. (wentworth chessil? southern accent saying the name, didn't catch it.) Rev Haynes (Haimes?) first black preacher. ina white church. ordained 1785. first black to receive masteters degree. first black speaker of the house early on (didn't catch year). paintinng of influentioal black men.
Relationship of Founder w AfAmericans? N/S different. But the Founders, the ones who put it together, came from a world that we don't understand. We're striving to get back to it. Shows obits of blackmen from back in the day. High praises in these obits.
It's not to say that slavery & Jim Crow didn't happen. We got taught that in school. But we didn't teach the good stuff. And so many other things. Jews in the revolution. 8 yr old boys (like John Q Adams) fighting in the war. (Jesus, can you imagine?)
COMMERCIAL
Okay, he summed up the four shows that were the most Aha! (2 on women, 2 on African Americans). Mostly clips. Makes me wish he'd put out a DVD of Founding Fathers Fridays. Anyways, does this mean he was laying the base, and the rest of the show will talk about other stuff?
Taking yesterday as a cue, is this a way to talk about focusing on the good and bringing that back (rather than teaching sleg-hatred of the country via history?).
It's like Beck wants to make it okay to have American pride. Okay to be patriotic. Show that patriotism isn't just for racist hicks.
Much of the African American early history in America really shakes the narrative we teach. A shame we don't use that..
BACK!
The first war on terror. This is round two on war on T. We actually sent ships to the same in 1700s, up until 1816, for 32 years we fought muslim terrorism. Madison dedicated 60% of budget to this.
whoa.
Kicked off the Series w Sam Adams, (more clip show. gah.). In "Faith, Hope, Charity", he's faith. Brits called him Father of the Revolution. They destroyed him. Beck says he had amazing faith in god. beck quotes an Adams speech. You look crazy, don't show it to the public. "They eyes of the people are upon us." Don't show it to the people or we're done for. Ira Stoll wrote Samuel Adams, a life. He's why Adams is "Faith". Stoll says Adams really thought God was on our side, like the Jews/Israel. The Brits called him the puppetmaster. These guys all defended religion. You can be as religious as you want; you can be whatever religion you want. "There is no America as it is today without Samual Adams".
next: Hope. "You're watching the GB special on FFFs. More in a second
COMMERCIAL
So... it IS a clip show. I am disappointed by this. At least, Sam Adams was the only one I caught last summer when he did these, so I'm enjoying seeing the goods.
I am so fucking sick of this Shirley Temple commerical. I hate Media Matters for killing Beck's commercial support with their thuggery and forced boycotts.
newsbreak: last astronauts to do a spacewalk ever. i think it's so fucked up that nasa's done. certainly says something about the state of the country.
DUN DUN DEN DUN
BACK!
People are hungry for their ownb history, just they're hungry for the Constituion. Mention of yummy Federalist papers.
HOPE: George Washington is Truth. Beck's favorite. known as The Indespensible Man. everyone was bickering, stuff was falling apart. here's washington. all he wanted to do was go to mt vernon and be a farmer. his country had him serve for year after year... they cam knocking at his door. "we need you, the whole thing is falling apart." "have i not yet done enough for my country?" most of the choices he made, he didn't want to do. he was revered for it. they knew that in the end, he didn't matter to him, doing the right thing.
Comparison to Obama's "hope". There is no figure in the history of this nation that represents hope more than Washington, says guest. We have writers today who say Founders were deists/atheists, but Founders esp Washington said this country was created because of the intervention of God. (intervention? did I catch the right word?) "It was god who used us to do this." No evidence that he feared death. He was afraid that he wasn't up to the tasik, didn't have what America needed. He sucked at being general at first. He grew into it.
Could someone like Washington be in office today? the two guests say no. Think someone is looking for someone like Washington to lead us, to fix the country. He was unanimously elected time and again, even though he never wanted it. BUt there was something in him. When we started, we were divided. But only one man is the Father of our Country. No presidents come close to the role he played (right guy, right time).
next, charity! Franklin! And then, life after Founding Fridays.
COMMERCIAL
I was always taught --always, relentlessly -- that the founders were deists. (especially franklin). this is collegiate education. i was taught in rhetoric classes that the common language was to include God. (Thomas Paine, once glorified, ended up being hated for not including God stuff in his writings for the French Revolution. he had included God in the american writings.) I can't not trust and believe my collegiate mentors. I can't help but consider that it could be wrong. It's very confusing. I'm able to question the "truths" I learned as a child. It's harder to questions the stuff I learned as an adult.
DUN DUN DEN DUN
Ben Franklin. First foreign embassador, first spy, inventer, (list of other awesome stuff). CHARITY.
Kite, on the money. Franklin created the nation's first hospital. PA didn't want to do it. Ben said "if i raise half, will you match it?" Assembly took the bet, because they didn't think he could do it. That hospital is still operating today. Also started first library. Started first volunteer fire company. Organized first militia (10,000 members). Join or Die -- the broken snake. That was him. 1754. The French are stepping up to drive us into the sea. Indian raids. Militia system isn't enough. Franklin's publishing the most important paper. Starts circuolating the idea of an American militia/army (working w brits). he started debates, arguments, got the discussion going. then, in june, a conference with leaders of colonies. a month before, Frankin published the snake. based on a french myth that they all knew. snake parts can rejoin after death.
next: most influential guy, so how come no one knows who he is?
COMMERCIAL.
I'm trying to be a smartypants and guess who it is. All I can think of is Thomas Paine, but how do people not know who Thomas Paine is? I wonder if he's really a buried gem or a lesser known that Beck likes. I wonder if I know him. I wonder if my knowing him -- or not -- will make me trust the information more/less. (I'm smart if I know him? Beck didn't surprise me and is less smart if I know him? etc)
DUN DUN DEN DUN
There wouldn't be a revolution without... George Whitfield.
wha?
He was the most known guy then. Instigator of the Great Awakening. Michael Jackson. Strained relationship w most preachers (Church of England) who didn't really care about the poor. His message here, he was overtly involved in crisis between brit and colonies. 1764, came to here and said "there's trouble coming" said "there is a deep laid plot against your civil and religious liberties, your golden days are at an end, my heart bleeds for you." When franklin testifies about stamp act, something about whitfield. He was true patriot, not just in words but in actions.
Beck: The Founding Fathers series may have come to an end, but now it's your turn.
COMMERCIAL
Oh yeah! I remember this guy! (linked to wiki, above.) He really was the Beatles. Tens of thousands gathered to hear him. His voice was super loud. Then people would pass back what he was saying to the people behind them, and again and again...
DUN DUN DEN DUN
There's still good ways to get good history. Look at the bibliography. Look for books citing original sources. Go see it, too. (Thinkin about Palin's current speaking tour, where she stops at meaningful spots.)
David Barton (wall builders), that's the guy who's been making a lot of comments.
Beck: Thank you. Respect Memorial Day weekend, but remember what it's all about. Then men and women in our armed forces.
Me: What a wonderful start to Memorial Day Weekend.
No comments:
Post a Comment