Education: How did it happen?

I've been re-reading "Alas, Babylon" by Pat Frank. The second time through is definitely an eye-opener. I am understanding things I did not get before. I wanted to share a couple of insights from the book that I feel are relevant in today's society.

From Alas, Babylon:


Note: In this scene, Randy is talking to his brother, a colonel in the military, about the real threat of war in America. It is written in 1959, so the examples are older, but the meaning is relevant to today.


Quote #1:
"How did it happen?" Randy had asked. "Where did we slip?"

"It wasn't lack of money," Mark had replied. "It was state of mind. Chevrolet mentalities shying away from a space-ship world. Nations are like people. When they grow old and rich and fat they get conservative (not politics, conservative in innovation). They exhaust their energy trying to keep things the way they are - and that's against nature. Oh, the services were to blame to. Maybe even SAC. We designed the most beautiful bombers in the world, and built them by the thousands. We improved and modified them each year, like new model cars. We couldn't bear the thought that jet bombers themselves might be out of style. Right now we're in the position of the Federal Navy, with it's wooden steam frigates, up against the Confederate iron-clad. It is a state of mind that money alone won't cure."

"What will?" Randy asked.

"Men. Men like John Ericsson invent a Monitor to face the Merrimac. Bold men, audacious men, tenacious men. Impatient, odd-ball men like Rickover pounding desks for atomic subs. Ruthless men who will fire the dead heads and butt-kissers. Rude men who will tell the unimaginative, business-as-usual, seven-carbon *** to go take a jump at a galloping goose. Young men because we've got to be a young country again. If we get that kind of men we may hack it - if the other side gives us time."



Quote #2:
"Quite often the flood of history is undammed or diverted by the character and actions of one man."

Quote #3:
"When two ships are on a collision course and the men at the wheel inflexibly hold to that course, there is going to be a collision. You don't have to be farsighted to see that."

Why does this book matter?
In my conversations with many adults that I mentor, one of the most often asked question is "How can I be mentored by a book?" We are mentored by books when we make connections with how the characters behave and react to their environment and relate those characters and situations to our every day lives. In the above scene, I am reminded that the United States of America has been in crisis before. The United States struggle to remain a republic has been tried and tested many times.

I ask myself questions like:

• How did the characters behave? Where they right or wrong?
• How did our government survive other times of crisis? Can we use those tactics today or do we need new tactics?
• What made the difference between freedom and servitude? 
• How are these situations like today?

As I answers these question through my studies, I gain a better understanding of human nature and what I need to do, change, or support. 

This is how classics change us. 

This is how we are mentored by books.

What kinds of books are your mentors?