Comparing Bradford's Plimoth with today's Plymouth.

"Of Plymouth Plantation" penned by William Bradford describes the hardships that the pilgrims faced when they first landed in the Cape Cod area. He recounts in detail their sacrifices (such as the seven who cared for the sick during a particularly harrowing winter), defeats (their inability to make homes for themselves their first season), and triumphs (learning to plant corn) .

Having lived in Boston when I was younger and visited the "real live" Plymouth Plantation, I'm always struck by the stereotypical views modern day Americans have painted about the pilgrims. I frequently rely on the texts from Bradford to remind myself that everything is not as it is really painted.

Some of the events or ideas that have aided the misconceptions of the Pilgrims include: 

• The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: 

          Please don't give me wrong, I LOVE watching the Rockettes kick it, but, really, it offers the idea of a whole bunch of really happy people learning to live together in harmony. When, in fact, there was probably a whole lot of "he said, she said," illness, feuding, and hormones flying around.

• Children's Coloring Books:

          Starting at the tender age of 3, children begin coloring

pictures of Native Americans and pilgrims holding hands and sitting at the first Thanksgiving meal together. 

•    Elementary School Text Books:

          These books cite passages from Bradford's "Of Plymouth Plantation," but they focus more on the relationship of Samoset and Squanto uniting with the Pilgrims to give and teach them of their craft. Although it has been proven that two Indians named Samoset and Squanto did indeed help the Pilgrims, I find it extremely doubtful that their presence was greeted with such Christian grace, warmth and charm. In addition, many textbooks create the impression that all of the Pilgrims who came from England were Puritans. As evident through Bradford's account, people like, Morton of Merrymount, were not of a religious faith at all.

And, finally,

• The Thanksgiving Holiday

          Children and adults alike are led to believe that Thanksgiving has been seen as a national holiday since, well, the 1600s. In actuality, it wasn't until Abraham Lincoln signed the 1863 Thanksgiving Proclamation that the day became a national holiday. Upon further reflection, Abe was probably aiming to unite two vastly different sectors of the U.S to promote unity as seen firsthand by the Native American tribe and Pilgrims.

Some of America is attempting to change these perceptions of the first settlers of Plymouth. The best example, and one that I can say I personally experienced, is Plymouth Plantation. Actors live out daily activities, describe personal experiences, and wear the clothing just like the Pilgrims did. Visitors to Plymouth Plantation can walk to the Wampanoag village and learn to carve out canoes and, similarly, speak to the them. Visitors can see Plymouth Rock and begin to grasp, maybe just a little bit, what a typical day in the life for these people was like. I would highly recommend checking out this link http://www.plimoth.org/ to take a virtual tour of the site and see what this "living museum" has to offer.

"As Poor Richard says"

In Benjamin Franklin's "The Way to Wealth," Richard Saunders, one of several of Franklin's pseydonyms, is a summary of the 1732 edition of Poor Richard's Almanack. The title gives the basic meaning of address: Saunders' describes through various references to Poor Richard the keys to life of wealth and meaning. A life of wealth and meaning is one that combines both recognition and appreciation of what is had and a desire to give back and work harder for a better life. It's not just about pulling a Thomas the Train with an "I think I can, I think I can;" rather, it's about seeing the mountain ahead of you and taking each step, each trial as it comes. In essence, Saunders is parenting the colonists with instructions to work hard, dream big, but remembering where they started and who helped them get them to where they are now.

As I was reading through Benjamin Franklin's "The Way to Wealth," a small thought occurred to me: Poor Richard's Almanack would be great on the "must read" lists for people of the 21st century. In today's world of "swag" and "YOLO" young adults could do with getting a reality check. Franklin's humor and directness would be the perfect antidote to this generation.

So, I did some research. Apparently, there's a book entitled Poorer Richard's America: What Would Ben Say? by Tom Blair. If you look to the right, you will see an image of the front cover. It made the The New York Times' Best Sellers list and addressed the big issues of the early 2000s like China and marriage. But, really, I don't think that young adults would really be "in" to reading that sort of book unless it had comic strips in it.

So, after looking on the Internet, it occurred to me that maybe, just maybe, Poor Richard has a Facebook page. Sadly, it appears the only pages concerning Poor Richard's Almanack include restaurants or a page with a Wikipedia like to a copy of the famous Almanack.

What about Twitter?  Surely, Poor Richard could make a few of the top tweets with his crafty sayings. Well, there are several Richard's tweeting, and the main @poor_richard seemed more inclined to "hate" on the President and his political party than offer practical advice that all Americans could use or, even, relate to.

I guess, no one on Facebook or Twitter or the publication business fully understands how to relate to this newer, hipper, more technological savvy generation of go-getters. If Zac Efron or Glee can get quoted for their "inspiring" quotes, why can't Ben Franklin, the top dog of all things quotable, even get some recognition? Here's my first step to anyone who chances upon this blog, follow this link:

http://www.unsv.com/voanews/spec
ialenglish/scripts/2010/11/07/0040/Poor_Richard's_Almanack_by_Franklin_Benjamin.pdf

Read it, print if off, write off a few of your personal favorites, read it again, and start living them. Poor Richard may have been first written in the 18th century, but I still think that his sayings are more than relevant to today's time. Check it out. What have you go to lose?

Columbus, Casas, and de Vaca...oh my!

I always find the back stories behind each work, author, title, etc. much more entertaining than the actual work itself. I like that, through research, a person from today can put himself (or herself) in someone's else's shoes 50, 200, or even 500 years ago. The problem with this reading is...I really don't know just what these explorers could have been thinking to travel half way across the world to a place so different from home not once, not twice, but several times. I mean, Columbus had the misfortune of having over half his crew completely despise him on one voyage and then poor Casas was ignored for four years because he believed slavery of the Indians was unjust and cruel. These guys really could not catch a break. It makes me wonder, though, what happened with the natives in the Americas? We never really get a complete look into the their emotions.What did they feel, think, experience? 

Kevin Cosner, the narrator/host for the videos below, probably put it into perspective the best: there was a certain awe from both sides of the boat, so to speak. I liked that these videos drew quotes from all three explorers we were asked to read. In addition, it clarified both the explorers and natives feelings during the time period. The natives were amazed by the white skin of the explorers and attempted to gain these explorers as trading partners, while the explorers viewed the natives as a people to be dominated and controlled. It puts a different spin on the readings, I think. I hope you enjoy these videos as much as I did because they tie in with the readings so well. In De Vaca's account, we realize that these natives were people. Yes, they had "strange" customs when compared to the Old World's reasoning, but, really, the Europeans believed that the best way to cure someone of a disease was through "bleeding." Who can say who's customs are stranger? In the end, two worlds collided and were forced to operate together. The Europeans, also called Christians in some of the texts, treat the natives as inferior and do not try to aid them in any way, shape or form. The natives, meanwhile, were forced to flea for safety, as mentioned in Casas account. When it's all tied in together, though, it appears as if all three explorers, were more focused on their Christian kinsmen than the natives plight. Casas never fully aids the natives by stopping any of the cruelties inflicted upon them. Likewise, Columbus is more focused on his personal reputation in the King's and Queen's eyes being ruined. I think what I learned the most from these readings and videos was the complete inability for both sides of the boat to extend hands and work as one to a better cause.