Eugene Ashby
Local Columnist
Since this writer has written much about the deterioration of American culture and the role it is playing in our present struggles, every thinking person should now be alerted to what actions are necessary in order to avert the predicted coming disaster in America. The most effective contribution that those over 40 years of age can make it to attempt to educate the younger generation in order to change the culture.
This writer suggests that all parents of high school age children should have them read two books during the summer months and submit a book report to their parents at the end of summer. A significant reward should be given at the completion of the project. The hope is that the inspired writings in these books will cause students to see, maybe for the first time, what is really important in life and appreciate the price that others have had to pay in order to make their present life possible.
This writer has spent his entire life working with young people in an attempt to help them find meaning in life and play a major role in the future of America. Some of my efforts have been successful and some have not. One of my former students was awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1992 and all former students have shown themselves to be competent scientists of character and integrity. On the other hand, I have experienced many outside of science who did not take seriously the opportunities that they had when they were younger. This writer spent three years visiting men in prison, one evening a week, in an attempt to provide Godly counsel during a trying time in their lives. In this endeavor I heard, first hand, many stories of what can happen to a person who is absorbed in a polluted culture and swallowed up by it. I know that all parents would like for their children to avoid this type of detour in their lives.
The two books I highly recommend for summer reading are as follows: “America the Beautiful” by Dr. Ben Carson and “George Washington, The Crossing” by Jack E. Levin. Both of these books are tremendously inspiring and very educational. If read carefully, I believe that these books can be life changing at a time when lives need to be changed from “what can you do for me,” to “what good can I do to make a contribution to mankind.”
The book by Carson is one of the most inspiring books this writer has ever read. As a young African American boy, he was raised in the ghettos of Detroit. He got into a lot of trouble and did poorly in school. Then, by a series of circumstances, he began to realize that there was another more promising pathway in life and it was to apply one’s self to the educational opportunities that were available. Today he has numerous honorary degrees from prestigious universities, sits on the advisory board of a number of well-known large companies and has held high office in American government. Carson is a man of great wisdom and integrity that I believe God has raised up in America for just such a time as this.
The second book is only 30 pages long and tells the story of Gen. George Washington and his men as they pursued the much larger and better equipped British Army in the Battle of Trenton on Christmas day, 1776. Up until that battle, Washington and his army had been soundly defeated by the British at every turn. However, at the last chance for victory, Washington and his hungry and freezing men, some of whom had rags tied around their feet for shoes, quietly got into boats with their horses and artillery and crossed the Delaware River, quietly at night and surprised the British. The victory at Trenton completely changed the outcome of the war and as a result, American won its independence.
The determination of a tired, hungry and freezing army during a bitterly cold day of freezing rain and little hope for success, pushed themselves to the limit in order to secure freedom and independence for the future of America. The price was high but Washington and his army did what had to be done in order to birth a new nation. The generations since 1776 have paid a crushing price to keep America free; it is up to the next generations to see that their sufferings were not in vain.
If one desires a more recent book, this writer highly recommends the book entitled “American Heroes” by James Patterson and Matt Eversmann. Students will learn “firsthand” what it cost to make America great.
How blessed are we to live in America, a land blessed by God and established by many Patriots before us.