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 Greetings! You are reading an article from The Mudville Gazette. To reach the front page, with all the latest news and views, click the logo above or "main" below. Thanks for stopping by! November 3, 2004 My kids tickle meBy GreyhawkFirst my O' so insightful daughter (OSID) had come home from school yesterday frustrated. Her class was having Mock-Debates. She was disgusted by how ignorant most of her peers were about the election and about the electoral college. I didn't dare tell her that I didn't fully understand the electoral college myself. She couldn't understand how they didn't know the difference between a Republican and a Democrat. I didn't dare try to explain to her about the Republican Moderates and Conservative Democrats. I listened, then tried to explain to her that the average 13 year old just doesn't take an interest in politics. It's usually boring. She's an exception, she understands why her father is over in Iraq and why he volunteered, and why they must succeed. Now my son, who was old enough to vote this year has been very excited about his college Gov't course. I'm afraid if he had taken this course any other time, he would not have been so interested. He did not sleep last night. He stayed up all night an watched the election. He has alot of issues he feels strongly about. My middle one, 'the Reinasant' asked me if Bush loses, am I going to be "all depressed for four years" I said I may be a little upset but rest assured life goes on after an election no matter who wins. She later confessed to me that while on the bus to school, the other day, she warned her little sister that if their was anything she wanted, she'd better ask now, cause if Bush loses, Mom's will be in a rage and say no to everything, then if Bush wins ask for whatever you want cause Mom will be deliriously happy and say yes to anything. Now I have know idea how they've become so interested in politics, but it can't be a bad thing to be knowledgeable. Mrs Greyhawk Posted by Greyhawk / November 3, 2004 9:08 PM | Permalink 13 Comments |
November 26, 2010America@war [Greyhawk]
I think anyone who's ever pondered the "comment" option - once only available on blogs and bulletin boards, now ubiquitous on almost any web site - will appreciate this:
The so-called faculty of writing is not so much a faculty of writing as it is a faculty of thinking. When a man says, "I have an idea but I can't express it"; that man hasn't an idea but merely a vague feeling. If a man has a feeling of that kind, and will sit down for a half an hour and persistently try to put into writing what he feels, the probabilities are at least 90 percent that he will either be able to record it, or else realize that he has no idea at all. In either case, he will do himself a benefit. That's wisdom from the past, captured for posterity at the US Naval Institute, shared via the web on the institute's 137th anniversary. From their about page:
"The Naval Institute has three core activities," among them, History and Preservation: The Naval Institute also has recently introduced Americans at War, a living history of Americans at war in their own words and from their own experiences. These 90-second vignettes convey powerful stories of inspiration, pride, and patriotism. Take a look at the collection, and you'll see it's not limited to accounts from those who served on ships at sea, members of the other branches are well-represented. I'm fortunate to have met USNI's Mary Ripley, she's responsible for the institute's oral history program (and she's the daughter of the late John Ripley, whose story is told here). She also deserves much credit for their blog. ("We're not the Navy nor any government agency. Blog and comment freely.") We met at a milblog conference - Mary knew (and I would come to realize) that milbloggers are the 21st-century version of exactly what the US Naval Institute is all about. Once that light bulb came on in my head, I mentioned a vague idea for a project to her - milblogs as the 21st century oral history that they are. "Put that in writing," she said (of course - see first paragraph above!) - and here's part of the result. Shortly after the first tent was pitched by the American military in Iraq a wire was connected to a computer therein, and the internet was available to a generation of Americans at war - many of whom had grown up online. From that point on, at any given moment, somewhere in Iraq a Soldier, Sailor, Airman or Marine was at a keyboard sharing the events of his or her day with the folks back home. While most would simply fire off an email, others took advantage of the (then) relatively new online blogging platforms to post their thoughts and experiences for the entire world to see. The milblog was born - and from that moment to this stories detailing everything from the most mundane aspects of camp life to intense combat action (often described within hours of the event) have been available on the web... And et cetera - but since you're reading this on a milblog, you probably knew that. And you know that milblogs aren't just blogs written by troops at war, that many friends, family members, and supporters likewise documented their story of America at war online in near-real time, as those stories developed. The diversity in membership of that group is broad, the one thing we all have in common is the impulse to make sense of the seemingly senseless, and communicate the tale - for each of us that impulse was strong enough to overcome whatever barriers prevent the vast majority of people from doing the same. Everyone at some point has some vague idea they believe should be shared - we were the people who, from some combination of internal and external urging, found and spent those many half hours persistently trying to write it down. But where will all that be in another 137 years? Or five or ten, for that matter. That's something I've asked myself since at least 2004 - when I wrote this:
Membership in the ghost battalion has grown in the years since, and an ever growing majority of those abandoned-but-still-standing sites are vanishing. Have you checked out Lt Smash's site lately? How about Sgt Hook's? If you're a long-time milblog reader you know the first widely-read milblog from Operation Iraq Freedom and the first widely-read milblog from Afghanistan are both gone from the web. If you're a relative newcomer to this world you may never even have heard of them - or the dozens upon dozens of others who carried forth the standard they set down. If you have a vague notion that something should be done about that, (a notion I've heard expressed more than once...) then you and I and the good folks at the US Naval Institute are in agreement. Preserving the history documented by the milbloggers is just one of the goals of the milblog project, the once-vague idea that we're now making real. And it's a big idea, if I say so myself - too big to explain in one simple blog post, so stand by for more. Likewise, it's too big a task to be accomplished by just one person. So if you're a milblogger (and exactly what is a milblogger? is a topic for much further discussion on its own) I'm asking for your help. All I'll really need is just a little bit (maybe just one or two of those half hours...) of your time, and your willingness to tell the tale. We've already made history, it's time to save it. (More to follow...) Posted 4:02 PM | Permalink |
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The Mudville Gazette is the on-line voice of an American warrior and his wife who stands by him. They prefer to see peaceful change render force of arms unnecessary. Until that day they stand fast with those who struggle for freedom, strike for reason, and pray for a better tomorrow.
 
 
 Furthermore, I will occasionally use satire or parody herein. The bottom line: it's my house. I like having visitors to my house. I hope you are entertained. I fight for your right to free speech, and am thrilled when you exercise said rights here. Comments and e-mails are welcome, but all such communication is to be assumed to be 1)the original work of any who initiate said communication and 2)the property of the Mudville Gazette, with free use granted thereto for publication in electronic or written form. If you do NOT wish to have your message posted, write "CONFIDENTIAL" in the subject line of your email. Original content copyright © 2003 - 2011 by Greyhawk. Fair, not-for-profit use of said material by others is encouraged, as long as acknowledgement and credit is given, to include the url of the original source post. Other arrangements can be made as needed. Contact: greyhawk at mudvillegazette dot com  Tending Distant Far from hearth and home, watching What tales we'll tell When things grim Some distant sunset, vision fading Saluting fallen friends whose names - Greyhawk, Baghdad, December 2004 |
My children 15, 12 & 10 wanted to stay up to watch the election results. I didn't realize they were that interested in politics. My 10 year old son was dissappointed when WA state went to Kerry. He wanted to move to ID or MT. He would still be able to go hunting and fishing and live in a "right" state. We live in Eastern WA. It is the "right" side of the state.
Priceless.
Bush won, so Mom will be in a good mood....yup, I think mine echo that sentiment!
---the youngest went to bed, but the oldest one kept popping in and out of bed 'til 1:30 . I stayed up 'til 6 am (Georgia time), but it was my husband's wake-up phone call in the late morning which gave me the great news!
When Mama's happy, everybody's happy!
I can't wait to show your post to my husband. He just finished saying that he was going to write the President a "Thank You" Letter for winning....because I'd have been in a hateful mood for the next 4 years otherwise. The last few days my big tough soldier has been trying to stay out of my way...something about my being impossible to speak to... He's very pleased to come home to a happy wife tonight!!!! Oh, he's out now with our 6 year old, buying a toy for no other reason than "Momma said OK"...instead of the usual wait until your Birthday or Christmas.
The other day on TV I heard a recording of a 911 call from a 5 year old boy. His father had attacked his mother and him with a knife. I don't think his mother made it, but he did.
He told the 911 operator (and I quote exactly): "Send an ambulance or the Army Men. I've been killed."
This was the most touching thing I've ever heard, even though it is one of the most tragic.
If I'm ever in trouble I'm calling for the Army Men, too. Just to be on the 'safe' side.
Southern, Strong and Safe in Chattanooga, TN
Tell you daughter to ask BIG!
My 9 year old sat on my lap and we watched the votes come in online. He was up until 1am and I had to fight to get him to bed. He was very happy this morning and even wrote '4 more years' on his Nerf football to bring to school.
Getting kids involved is GOOD. It's helps them realize what the world is about. And today - it is about FREEDOM and 58 million people finding their voice.
Thanks Greyhawk for protecting our voices. And our children.
Greyhawk, I have the same thing going on at my house. 18,16,11,& 7. They know more about politics than your average 28 yr old. I had to make my 7 yr old stop asking complete strangers who they were voting for. My 16 yr old daughter thinks that her whole generation is completely stupid and out of touch. Seems Rock the Vote , rocked, but forgot to vote...lol.
And the Vote or Die crowd might wanna see a doctor cuz they sure as heck didn't vote.
I hope you saw your halloween costume over at my blog! Keep safe Greyhawk!!
My seven year old came home with her weekly reader vote marked in childish scrawl Bush ....YES! My teenage daughter had to keep from gloating around her friends who clearly were depressed. Glad this is over, and even gladder that the kids were interested.
Mrs. Greyhawk,
Aren't kids great? You think they don't listen until you hear them repeat stories like that. My sixteen year old daughter is constantly complaining about all the talk radio and politics I make her listen too. In fact, I can pretty much figure my radio time in the car is over when she is riding with me.
The other day, one of her teachers asked the class to debate the question, "How do you feel about the War in Iraq?"
The class was, according to my daughter, approximately divided into thirds: 1/3 was very patriotic and Pro-Bush, Pro-war; 1/3 was Pro-Bush, but had serious reservations about the war even though they said we needed to win there and 1/3 were pacifists who said we should make peace and all war was wrong.
My beautiful teenage daughter, who has listened to me rant and rave since 9/11, stood up to be counted. She declared her support for our President and for our troops and stated she would go in their place if they needed her to fight for our culture and our freedom. When one of the pacifists challenged her, she told him the following:
"I want peace like everyone else, but please feel free to go over to Iraq or somewhere else in the Middle East. Find a nice little Al Quaeda (sp?) group and tell them we need to make peace and war is wrong. But be sure to smile for the video camera while they are cutting off your head."
She gets it!! I've never been so proud of my daughter!
There is hope for our future if our children understand the threat and are prepared to face it down. I pray to God that they don't have to. Please Thank your Husband and all of his kind for me. God Bless 'em! We pray for them every night.
Kayceky- Your daughter's response was perfect!
My 15 & 16 year olds are pretty astute as compared to their peers. The boy has read Hannity and O'Reilly and is a little more interested than his sister, but it's the 4 year old that tickles me the most!
My 9 year old daughter "voted" at her school where Bush won 248 to Kerry's 63. She has been drawing signs like "Let Freedom Ring" and the Bush/Cheney campaign types. She said her class was asked who was running for the democratic vice presidency. She was the only one who knew the answer. Makes a mother proud.
Kids are great. My 7 year old didn't stop with asking folks who they're voting for. She told them they should vote for Bush because "he's good, like my daddy". That may say more for my husband than for the President:-) When her class voted there was only one little girl who voted for Kerry/Edwards. When we were talking about the "election" at school she told me that "one girl voted for Kerry, but, it's Ok cause she's a new girl at school and didn't know any better."
You, your husband and your family are in my prayers. Thank you.
I doubt you wanted a political testimonial, but I, like your children, had an interest in politics since I was in elementary school. Used to be I knew nothing about the issues and would pick a politician whose name I liked. They always lost. My true political forming started in about '92, when Clinton was running for president the first time. I understood nothing about the economy or health care or any of that. I was already a staunch supporter of our troops, though.
Other than his being a Vietnam draft dodger, I knew nothing of Clinton, but that was enough. I did not like him. My opinion worsened over the next 8 years. In 93 or 94, I began to listen to Rush Limbaugh and G. Gordon Liddy, and to read books like Contract with America and Rush's books. That marked the end of my listening to National Public Radio.
Would have voted for Dole in '96 if I could have, and did vote for Bush in '00. As soon as I was eligible to register in '98, I did it and then went and voted when I was home on Fall break.
I ended up graduating from a bastian of liberalism, but held fast to my conservative values.
I have now rambled entirely too long.
Betty
P.S. Yes, I voted this time, too. Bush of course.