The Singing Revolution Sunday, May 11 2008
Classical Education and Family Movies and Inspirations and This N That 1:03 pm
I will be speaking about the idea of beauty at an upcoming conference, and have been considering beauty as expressed in different media. One medium that affects us all is music, which has the power to move people to tears, to move them to war, to move them to destruction, or to move them to revolution.
We went to see a documentary film called The Singing Revolution yesterday in Denver. This film tells the story of how music was used to overthrow decades of Soviet oppression in the little Baltic nation of Estonia. Without raising a weapon, thousands of people succeeded in bringing down their slavemasters through their music.
Don’t let the term “documentary” scare you off. Please try to see it. You will be drawn in by the story and the beautiful music. Imagine 24,000 people singing in tune skillfully following a conductor while the Soviet army stands helplessly by. This film is a “must-see,” but like so many good movies in the last few years (The Passion of the Christ, Bella, etc.) it won’t come to a theater near you unless you request it. Please take a few moments to check out the website and then call your local theaters and ask them to bring this wonderful film to your city. Then, encourage your family and friends to go see it. It is a bit of history about which few are aware and it is presented in a way that will lift your spirits. Your young teens and older will enjoy the movie. The music which brought about this revolution was set to a national poem and was banned by the Soviets, but the people managed to sing it anyway and by doing so, kept hope for freedom alive in their hearts.
One of the lessons I took away from the movie is the importance of love of country in the survival of a people and a culture. Unfortunately, often people do not realize how good their own country is until they lose their freedoms and suffer oppression for decades as millions did under Soviet domination.
This is probably the most difficult Mother’s Day for me to anticipate, because it is the first for me without my own dear mother who died last year. My Mom was just a little over a month short of 93 years of age. Mom was born in Tumacacori, Arizona, not far from the Mexican border in a little house which still stands by the highway. She grew up in that area, went to school and was then homeschooled by her own mother, learning Latin and reading Homer and Plato. She married my Dad in 1939 and together they had seven children. Mom dedicated her life to taking care of my Dad and the family. She moved all over the country because my Dad’s work took us all over the country. She was a gracious hostess and entertained people from all over the world in that capacity. There was no finer cook–I can still taste the simple pleasures of caldo, tamale pie and her refried beans. I learned a lot from my wonderful Mom–most importantly to trust in God ( I can still hear her say “con el favor de Dios“) and to love family. Happy Mother’s Day, Mom, and all you Moms out there.








