I'm spending my weekend with the Roosevelts, thanks to public television. (Trump and his minions would have PBS and NPR defunded, of course, as part of his mission to make Americans as small-minded as possible.) I can't even imagine what I'd have done without these three platforms for lifelong education and inspiration.
A pair of excellent counterpoints to the focus on our current administration (if you use that word, loosely) are these two offerings on PBS: :
The Atlantic Crossing
and
Ken Burns' The Roosevelts, An Intimate History
In the former, "inspired by historical events," eight episodes dramatically recreate the years of America and Norway pre- and through World War II. While the madman Hitler takes over Europe with megalomania and excruciating cruelty, all nations are in peril.
The crown prince of Norway and his family cross the Atlantic in 1939 and are befriended by Franklin and Eleanor. A year later, all hell breaks loose in Norway--a country who thought itself safe due to its neutrality.
Back when history was taught as dull facts, I was never interested. But now, thanks to the brilliance of historians and storytellers like Ken Burns and David McCollough and so many others, history comes to life.
After watching Atlantic Crossing, I couldn't resist re-watching the Ken Burns special all over again. I'd watched it years ago, but that was before we lived in a country with its own madman at the helm.
I highly recommend both of these.
No comments:
Post a Comment