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Book review: “A Land Remembered” tells the history of Florida in novel form
A Land Remembered by Patrick D. Smith, is the history of Florida, told in novel form.
The author creates a fictional family, the McIvey’s, and weaves a tale of their lives through all the major points of Florida history, from the time of the Civil War to the 1960s. Sensing the onset of war, Tobias McIvey flees Georgia and settles in the wilderness of northern Florida in the late 1850’s with his young wife. Through Tobias and his sons Zack and Sol, as well as their African-American and Seminole friends, we learn about the Battle of Olustee during the Civil War, the shameful treatment of the Seminole tribe, how rural Floridians came to be called “crackers,” open-range cattle ranching, the beginning of citrus crops, the railroads of Henry Flagler, the settlement and rapid growth of Miami and south Florida, and more than anything else, we learn about the land– creatures, plants, lakes, hurricanes, and the Everglades. The story is told with humor and drama. This is an interesting way to learn about Florida, which is why many Florida social studies teachers use it in their classrooms. However, I should warn you that the characters are far from saints– there is a fair bit of profanity and some mild sexuality, as well. There is a student edition of this book which may tame some of those elements.
Who is to blame for the mass shootings?
Article copyright by Bob Rogers
A Colorado theater. A Connecticut elementary school. A Texas church. A concert in Las Vegas. A Florida high school. Such diverse places have this in common: they are locations of mass shootings.
When such horrific tragedies happen, we gasp, hug our children, lower our flags, pray, and ask, “Why?”
Soon a number of scapegoats will be brought forth to be sacrificed at the altar of our need to blame someone or something.
Some will blame a lack of gun control. They will say that if we had stricter gun control, the shooter could not have done this. Perhaps if assault rifles and machine guns were off the market, it could reduce the likelihood of such attacks. Those who defend Second Amendment rights disagree, saying criminals will always find illegal ways to get guns, and mass shootings have also happened in nations with strict gun laws.
Some will blame a lack of security. Perhaps improvements in security can be made, but the police and security guards cannot be everywhere.
Some will blame violence in the media, saying that it desensitizes the viewer and can lead to copy-cat actions. However, millions of other people watch TV and movies without having an urge to hurt anybody.
Others will blame the shooter’s upbringing and environment, as many of these shooters have a troubled past. Most people agree that more could be done to detect and treat mental illness, and report “red flags” such as violent threats on social media. But once again, we cannot know what is in the min and heart of every person.
In playing the “blame game,” we often fail to look at the greatest reason for the actions of each shooter and for each of us: the human heart.
Jeremiah 17:9 (ESV) says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” Jesus said that evil comes from within, out of the heart (Mark 7:21).
When the Gospel of John describes how Judas Iscariot got up from the Last Supper, left Jesus and the other disciples, and stepped outside to betray Christ, John adds this short sentence: “And it was night.” (John 13:30). John was speaking of the spiritual darkness of that moment, but it reminds me of the Colorado theater shooting in 2012 at the opening of the Batman movie, The Dark Knight. After that dark night of Jesus’s betrayal and death, a light arose, because this Jesus who died on the cross also arose from the dead to defeat evil and give us hope.
The greatest need that mankind has is not gun control, more police, controls over movies, or psychologists. Our greatest need is for a Savior who can change the heart. He alone can change our dark nights into bright mornings.
Bob Rogers 