"Party of One: The Loner's Manifesto" by
Anneli Rufus (From the back cover: "An essential defense of the
people the world loves to revile -- yet without whom it would be
lost."
"Hackers and
Painters: Big Ideas from the Computer Age" by Paul Graham
"The Discovery of Freedom: Man's Struggle Against
Authority" by Rose Wilder Lane
"We the Living" "The Fountainhead"
"Atlas Shrugged" and other works by Ayn Rand
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As a home-schooling mother, I collect books and quotes
about education. Some of the books that have influenced me include:
"Dumbing us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory
Schooling" by John Taylor Gatto (my favorite)
All the works of John Holt
"The Closing of the American Mind: How higher education
has failed democracy and impoverished the souls of today's
students" by Allan Bloom
"Endangered Minds: why children don't think and what we
can do about it" by Jane Healy
"The Gift of Fire" by Richard Mitchell
"Childhood's Future" by Richard Louv
"Amusing Ourselves to Death" by Neil
Postman
"Better than Life: The Secrets of Reading"
by Daniel Pennac
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Walk the Line
Groundhog Day
The Aviator
Some Like It Hot
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On March 15, 1989, Doug and I were lucky to be witnesses to
one of the first massive rallies, contrary to government approval and heralding
the movement that eventually dissolved the Soviet Union. This was in Budapest,
on Petöfi Day. We were there to cross examine witnesses in the Finta war crimes
matter, and just happened to be present on that impressive occasion.
We had just arrived in the country, at the beginning of our
five-week stay, and everyone we spoke to cautioned us to stay off the streets,
and remember what happened in 1956 when the Soviet tanks rolled into the city,
quashing the nascent Hungarian Revolution. It was very hard to tell what would
happen, but we joined the crowds anyhow, marching peacefully to the television
station, in memory of the events of 1956.
There were hundreds of thousands of people on the street
that entire day, and I couldn't help but reflect how jaded we in North America
are in regard to our freedom. These people came from all over Hungary, bringing
their entire families. There were no food concessions, or porta-potties, and
meanwhile there was the ominous thrum of the helicopters overhead, and in the
back of everyone's mind, the memory of those deaths in 1956. As the day
progressed, and no government forces surfaced to stop this peaceful revolution,
the mood became more relaxed, though still solemn and determined. We spent the
entire day, marching with the people, taking movies and still pictures,
listening to speeches and talking to those who could speak English.
Later that night from our hotel on the Danube, we watched the
candlelight parade across the Chain Bridge, from Pest to Buda. It lasted for
hours and hours. When we fell asleep, the lights were still crossing the bridge,
conveying a hope for freedom I've never seen in Canada. I wonder with hope in my
heart, if we will ever see such light, here and now.
A few photos of this time can
be found here.
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Maes Howe, Orkney Islands, Scotland
In this place I felt the presence of
my Celtic ancestors.
Wandering River, Alberta
China Beach, Vancouver Island
Port Alice, Vancouver Island
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Quotation Books: Ever since I can remember, I have collected books of quotations, searching
for interesting and oddball books and authors. Being an advocate of freedom of
speech, and throughout the years that Doug and I have worked to promote freedom
of speech, I've found many inspiring works. A very few favorites include:
"A New Dictionary of Quotations" by H.L. Mencken
"The Great Quotations" by George Seldes
"The Forbes Scrapbook of Thoughts on the Business of Life" by
Malcolm Forbes
"The Untamed Tongue" by Thomas Szasz
"Aphorisms and Reflections" by J.L. Spalding
"Thoughts" of Marcus Aurelius
"The Immortal Light of Genius" and "The
Orator" by Peter Nivio Zarlenga (See samples
from these books)
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This album (High Falootin') by a talented, very lively
and inspiring female group called The Hootin' Annies makes me
homesick for Alberta, every time I hear it, and reminds me of my own roots and
aspirations and struggles. You can listen to a few sound clips at their
website.
Though I'm not of Scottish ancestry, I find the music of Steve
McDonald very moving. He's released a trilogy of CD's based on the
Highland Clearances. They are Sons of Somerled, (described as "a
Celtic album of epic proportions"), Stone of Destiny and Highland
Farewell, and would probably appeal to anyone who identifies with a
struggle for freedom. You can hear samples of this music, here.
Speaking of a struggle for freedom, I love the first track in Johnny
Cash's American III: Solitary Man. It's called I Won't Back Down,
and reminds me of many people I've known who have tried to follow their own
path, in the face of great obstacles.
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by Peter Nivio Zarlenga
To be what you are
and to become what you could be.
To seek to create excellence
in whatever you choose to do.
To do what is right. To practice principles.
To act upon the Truth. To create order
from chaos. To think and act on your thought.
To be yourself. To live.
To be real, right, good and true.
To choose to cause your own change.
To identify, simplify, concentrate and move.
To fight for freedom, justice, truth, beauty,
achievement and joy.
This is the purpose of life.
Acting on this purpose is a good life.
It will set fire to your spirit.
It will give you great meaning.
Your essence, your aim, your action,
must be in harmony.
Being in harmony with what you are is beauty.
To be beautiful be true to yourself.
(From "The Orator", copyright 1977, Flight)
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Human Beauty
by Peter Nivio Zarlenga
Human beauty, the grandest kind
is being true to yourself over time
it is thinking and acting upon your thought
it is reason and emotion in harmony
it is meaning in harmony with essence
it is the heart and the mind in love
it is knowing and feeling the same
it is being and becoming what you are
it is potential and it is joy
it is moving toward yourself
it is thought, truth, action and freedom.
(From "The Orator", copyright 1977, Flight)
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Act Upon the Truth
by Peter Nivio Zarlenga
And you will create order.
Your order will create energy.
Your energy will create movement.
Your movement will create achievement.
Your achievement will create joy.
Your joy will create love.
Your love will create goodwill.
Your goodwill will create:
Justice
Freedom
Truth
Beauty
It can be done.
You can do it.
(From "The Orator", copyright 1977, Flight)
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This is my absolute personal favorite, and has been the
guiding statement for my life, since I first read it in 1978:
A letter to myself
by Peter Nivio Zarlenga
Speak the Truth no matter what enemy threatens to harm you.
Always realize that Man is rational and wants to know the Truth
because he is good. All people must know what is true, so they can do
what is right, so they can be themselves, so they can become what they
could be.
Never allow wealth to become more important than liberty, servitude
more important than the challenge of freedom, acceptance of fools more
important than being yourself.
Realize in the darkest moments that you will win in the end because
the Truth is invincible and if you speak the Truth you will be
invincible.
Allow no value to become more valuable than the Love of Truth, no
matter what emotional pain you might feel for a moment, no matter what
other thing you may lose, no matter what anyone may say, no matter
what.
Create Beauty and people will respond to what you have created.
If you enter into a battle, fight until you are victorious or dead.
Do not be ashamed, or embarrassed, or timid to speak with glory in
your voice, or fire, or strength. Weakness never did anyone any good.
Use your power. Do not dim your light because other people say they
cannot see. They are pretending to be stupid. They know what is good
and what is evil.
Never give in to evil. Never work with evil, never allow evil to
work with you. Fight evil when and where it comes up and kill it right
there.
Allow no one to destroy the Truth. Allow no one to say of what is
good that it is no good and of what is evil that it is good. Allow no
one to say of what is real that it is unreal or of what is unreal that
it is real. No authority is higher than Reality.
Respect human talent, respond to genius, recognize reality, admire
truth and beauty, realize the meaning of the rare flower Reason.
Say what you do know and say what you do not know. Be real, right,
good and true.
(From "The Orator", copyright 1977, Flight)
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