Commonplace Notes 8/16/2010-8/20/2010

This may bore anyone who reads it to death. So that I am not accused of homicide, read at your own risk. Right now I'm having fun studying these books again with a sweet girl. We're studying for several CLEP and DSST exams.



A History of the American People- read through page 60--It is so obvious why Europeans especially British came to the New World. Even though it was hard, it was a chance at a better life--land, freedom, choice, dignity, and a chance for the proletariat to rise in social standing by his own mind and hands.

The Roots of American Order-I hated this book the first time through but understood its importance. The comparing and contrasting of the American and French Revolutions is classic and very important. Because the Americans had adopted the order of the Bible, they escaped terror and autocracy. The fabric of the teachings of the prophets of the Old Testament held under the pressure of revolution.

The Story of Art It is hard to write about a book that I've been through a dozen times. This has to be the ultimate book on art history, which I am using to help a girl study for a DSST exam.


The Making of America-"We the people" indicates and inalienable right for the people of the United States of America to govern themselves. The divine right of kings and whatever those who wish to dominate others call it today is a fallacy--a deceptive device used to extort and control.

"I know no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves; and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their controls with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion by education. This is the true corrective of abuses of constitutional power." Thomas Jefferson "Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone. The people themselves therefore, are its only safe depositories. And to render even them safe, their minds must be improved to a certain degree."

"A more perfect union" recognizes that the people of the United States of America wish to live under the principle that the states are combined in a union and a solidly structured nation.Until the War of 1812, it was a very fragile union at best. But union gives protection from outside invaders, negates border disputes, discourages despotism, encourages better transportation , should mean lower taxes, and greater peace for all.


"establish justice" is probably the nearest and dearest right that all Americans cherish--to be treated as innocent until proven guilty and to have life and liberty protected. Lately, our justice has been tarnished; it is not fair and equal. People are afraid to speak up, afraid of reprisals, afraid that the one with the most money will fair the best, and afraid of high court costs. This is not justice. When honesty is no longer a given, when the a man's word means nothing, there can be no justice. It's sort of like running a family. There should be few but very understandable rules. The braking of said rules should come with consequence, regardless of situation. Everyone has a sob story. while it is kind to listen and sympathize, consequence should not be abandoned, because the rule-breaker got a smaller piece of the pie so to speak. Justice must not be iron-fisted but tempered with mercy, love, and equality.

"ensure domestic tranquility" peace and security through law and order..."The mobs of great cities add just so much to the support of pure government as sores do to the strength of the human body." Thomas Jefferson States can call on the National Guard if domestic violence overruns local law enforcement.

"But, Sir, it has been intimated that the design of the federal convention was to absorb the state governments. This would introduce a strange doctrine indeed, that one body should seek the destruction of another, upon which its own preservation depends, or that the creature should eat up and consume the creator." James Wilson


"general welfare" does not imply personal or special welfare. Instead this means that the resources or tax moneys should be used to better the country as a whole. Favors and privileges to the pets of the "king" are not general welfare.

"secure the blessings of liberty" was to guide the divided, balanced, and limited government to always seek the liberty of the people in its decisions and actions. "If you question and American respecting his own country...he will inform you what his rights are and by what means he exercises them...You will find that he is familiar with the mechanism of the laws....The American learns to know the laws by participating in the act of legislation....The great work of society is ever going on before his eyes, and, as it were under his hands. In the United States, politics are the end and aim of education." Alexis De Tocqueville We would all do well to get a copy of the book that caused this astonishment in De Tocqueville, The Catechism on the Constitution by Arthur J. Stansbury, and memorize it as most school children of 1828 did. Maybe then we will be in a position to take back our country.

"From the nature of man, we may be sure that those who have power in their hands will not give it up, while they can retain it. On the contrary, we know that they will always, when they can, rather increase it." James Madison

The Struggle for a Continent-It really makes sense why the British could not make peace with the Native American. Their ways and mores were miles apart. They could not understand each other at all. On the other hand, the French and their relativistic ways accepted the ways of the Indian, including blood revenge and such. I can see the good in the Native ways but also the bad. Likewise, the English and French were also a mix of good and bad. The Europeans needed a new land for their very survival, but their ways were incompatible for the most part from the Natives. The French didn't come to build a new land but to hunt for furs. With different goals and different values, they fit in a bit better--for awhile. Hunter gatherers and fur traders of necessity needed the forest. Farmers needed it cleared. The former needed large natural areas to live. The later used less land more intensively. As is always the case, the strongest ones or at least the ones with the most guns won.

Landmark Herodotus-  The Greek gods are all so very odd and ungodly. One idea that is new to me is that they were demonic beings exercising unrighteous dominion over humans. Hmmmm....this makes some sense, if you believe, as I do, that 1/3 of God's angels were thrust out of Heaven for rebellion along with Lucifer, the son of the morning. Then these mythical gods and the reports of their doings lend a lot more credence to Herodotus, Achilles, and such. Why are these "classics" so important to read, when their "heros" weren't very heroic from current American point of view? They raped. They took bribes. They were in it selfishly. There was no honor for country and home. We define nobility and heroism by Christ's example, whether we believe in Christ or not. The Judeo-Christian ethic defines our culture. True those ethics are eroding at an alarming rate. Nevertheless, we all believe a man who rushes into a burning building to save the lives of strangers as heroic.

However, we can find reason to read "classics" for what they do represent. Like the man in the fire, Spartans were bold and fearless, instead of the effeminate men we see daily in our culture. The ones who would rather sit in front of the tube and sling one down, than take the time to protect our liberties by voting or participating in government. Men now change diapers and help with the dishes; women now work as mechanics, but we have lost something in the exchange.

Greek men were just as intelligent as Modern men. They were not imbeciles or less capable, because they believed in spiritual things. We must not reject thing, because they are not true today--like flying snakes or dragons. The Greek gods of old no longer have power, because Jesus displaced them. Men don't believe in them because of this. Although modern men seldom embrace the Savior today, His influence changed the world for the better. The world Herodotus describes is the world Christ was born, lived, and died in. He came to save crazy, death-worshipping men like Themistocles and Croesus and Harpagus and Cyrus and Solon.

The Sustainable Vegetable Garden- This is the book that the Dervae's use for their garden method, which I wish to emulate. It is an abridgment of How to Grow More Vegetables, which I'll be reading soon. I especially like the part about growing for compost over the winter and intend to incorporate this principle. They give a good chart for how much of what you ought to grow to eat entirely from your garden. I'm grateful to have found this book and intend to move this direction this fall.

The Anatomy Coloring Book, The Botany Coloring Book, How to Draw Anything, Mapping the World with Art, The Complete Book of Marvels, Madrigal Spanish Whatever Happened to Penny Candy, Bluestocking Economics,  Painless Grammar, Western Civilization+ Study Guide, Omnibus I, Nutritional Sciences: From Fundamentals to Food + Study Guide