Oppenheimer

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This post includes several points of view.  I’d encourage you to at least take the time to scroll through, including the links.

This week, somebody cleaned the for-the-public blackboard at Caribou in Woodbury, my coffee place, and wrote a question: “What are you watching first?”  In one column, “Barbie“, in the other “Oppenheimer“.

Thus far (Friday p.m.) it’s 22-21.  My hash mark is for Oppenheimer, which I’ve seen once, and plan to see again.  Yes, Oppenheimer is just a film – a longggg film (3 hours) – but full of content for reflection about then, and now.  I highly recommend viewing it.

My view on the general matter nuclear and the bomb?  See postnote.  Succinctly, I’ve not changed my views on why The Bomb came to be; nor about it’s utter uselessness as a tool to resolve problems.  It is useful only as a threat, actually used in war on only two occasions in 78 years, and those two by the United States: Hiroshima and Nagasaki, August 6 and 9, 1945.  Of course, the threat has now been rolled out again: Putin threatening Ukraine.  

The film speaks for itself, as does the history and the conflict over interpretation of what happened at the inauguration of the nuclear age in the time of Einstein and Oppenheimer.

I’d prefer to present some perspective, in the present tense, at minimum to hopefully add to the conversation.

A few months ago, my brother, John, visited the actual Trinity site in New Mexico.  With his permission, here is what he had to say, including a link to. the photos he took at the site at the time.

John Bernard July 26: Here’s the link to my Flickr album that contains a mix the photos I took at the Trinity site: Trinity. The time, there wasn’t really a whole lot of laughter or joviality among any of the visitors at  the site. It was pretty much a somber tour and a walk around the site.

I went to see [the film July 25] , with my biking buddy Jim – who happens to be a retired professor at UC Davis, and who actually took a course from Edward Teller in [his] undergraduate days at Berkeley. Both of us liked the films approach as a good mix between the mechanics and science of building the bomb and the moral conflict a lot of the people were having about actually building it.

Regarding Trinity site – stone cairn theoretically is Ground Zero – I didn’t bother to take a picture of the plaque .   Inside the simple, rebar steel cage at the side of the monument is what is  claimed to be the remnants of one of the footings of the steel tower that the device was on. Due to the fact that it’s in the middle of the White Sands missile test range, which is still an active military installation, it’s only open to the public two days a year – in April and October.

A Voice from the Past: Coincidently, less than three weeks ago I delivered a few letters to the family archive at the Historical Society of North Dakota in Bismarck.  Among them were two long letters from my Aunt Jean to her husband, my Uncle George.  They had been married about a year, and he was in his third year as an officer on the destroyer USS Woodworth in the Pacific.

Jean’s letters were dated August 15 and 19, 1945.  News from home.

The letters are among several hundred of George and Jean’s 1942-45 letters preserved at the historical society for posterity in archive 11082.

Jean’s letters to her husband were, of course, personal, and I include here only a tiny portion of one of them, “6:30 Wed Aug 15, 1945” : “I’m so happy! It’s half an hour since the announcement of Japan’s surrender.  Oh Darling, I can hardly believe it – Mrs. Coan called me saying “come over for a drink”.  I did – guess we mixed it with tears while the Star Spangled Banner was played – we are all so happy, that’s all….”

I forwarded the letters to John, who additionally commented: Cool! So glad she saved them – an interesting slice of life (pun intended, because apparently she [had] gotten a job at a potato chip plant on the Night Shift) from a war bride in 1945. I did indeed scan [the letter], and noted in one portion that [Jean] indicated it was a year, almost exactly to the day, since she last saw him.

(They had married in North Dakota in May, 1944, and apparently he was stateside for a couple of months.  He finally returned home in October, 1945.  The last port of call, beginning Sep. 11, 1945, was Tokyo.)

SPEAKING PERSONALLY, TODAY:

  1. Unfortunately, we cannot un-invent atomic energy, or anything created by research.  Makes no difference whether it will kill us or not.  We owe our basic quality of life (as we see it) to research and invention over human history.  How/Where/Whether to draw the line is probably impossible.
  2. Oppenheimers job, it seems, was specifically to beat the Germans to the goal of a nuclear weapon.  The Germans surrendered before the American bomb was tested; but the Japanese did not officially surrender until September, 1945.
  3. Every generation has its crises.  At the end of WWII people everywhere generally were sick and tired of war.  In my own families case, my uncle had gone down with the Arizona Dec. 7, 1941.  The man who would later become his brother-in-law, Mom’s brother,  spent three years as an officer on a Destroyer, and the list goes on and on.  Everyone focused on their own loved one, “over there”.  The Japanese, in this case, were the amorphous “other”.  To the Japanese, we were the evil other.  That is how war is.
  4. Hateful and deadly as it is, it is unlikely that we will ever succeed in ridding the world of nuclear weaponry, nor of the evil ones who will view it as an asset.  We certainly should continue to call attention to the insanity of nuclear weaponry.  There are many sources of information, including this link: ICAN.
  5. There are present day analogies, I feel, to the nuclear crisis that led to Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  The Pandemic is a recent example, where more than a million Americans were killed by a disease, emptying American movie theaters, etc., for well over a year. A “bomb” to rid us of that plague would have been welcome.  Or Climate Change which is an ongoing threat.  And Political Polarization which will assure that we not have the collective will to confront common problems.  And on and on and on.
  6. I was struck, in the film, by the blackboard, chalk and eraser, just like the chalkboard in my coffee place.  Oppenheimers days were the days before much of the technology we take for granted.  For that matter, Barbie, “born”  in 1959, came during the blackboard, chalk and eraser time.
  7. I personally think that we ourselves are our greatest enemy going forward.  The Bomb is easier to threaten than to use.  We’re stuck by a societal pandemic of dishonesty (lies), ginned up fear and loathing of different others, and now AI (artificial intelligence), etc.,enter the conversation, to disrupt and confuse and deceive.  I think we can solve this, but I’m not so sure we will….

Amy submitted this opinion to her Church Newsletter on July 26, 2023: Amy re Oppenheimer and Nuclear0001

Columnist John Rash wrote this review of the film for the Minneapolis Star Tribune July 22, 2023: Oppenheimer Rash July 22 2023

POSTNOTE:  I’ve long been on record on the issue of The Bomb, and Nuclear generally.  A couple of examples:  in 1982 – Nuclear War;  later, in 1995 – Atomic Bomb 1945001.  Referenced in the 1995 column is a news article about the first detonation of The Bomb shortly before Hiroshima and Nagasaki, 1945: Atomic Bomb 1945 news20200809.

There is more.  What I say above basically lays out where I am, and where I’ve been.  It’s not an easy issue.

August 5, 6 and 8 in Minneapolis and St. Paul is the annual commemoration of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  Detail here click on first tab under news and events.  I highly recommend this.

POSTNOTE 2: Saturday afternoon, I attended Oppenheimer for the second time this week.  I rarely see movies in the first place, and it is rare for me to watch one twice.

I was glad I attended, this time thinking more about our common future as a planet; than simply an historical anecdote about the now distant past.

Back home the TV news was about places like Niger in Africa.

Overnight came a commentary on a speech made yesterday by President Biden to a small group in the state of Maine.  The speech was very important, and the commentary about the speech is here.

We – all of us – are the solution.

COMMENTS (more at end of post):

from Brian: Thanks for sharing!   Even as a pre-teen growing up in San Antonio, Texas, I remember asking my mother why did President Truman have to use the atomic bomb on two cities with civilians?   It wasn’t necessary.

from Joyce: Eric and I saw Oppenheimer on Thursday; we both consider the film a masterpiece. As we left the theater on that exceedingly hot afternoon, I remarked to Eric that the scientists were right to fear we would set fire to the atmosphere, they were just wrong about how we would do it, gradually through industrial processes, not suddenly through a nuclear chain reaction.

I remember my parents defending the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasagi when I brought it up with them as a teenager; they claimed those bombs saved lives by preventing an invasion. Harry S. Truman was their hero. Those were civilian lives, children, infants, whole families. I will never understand why we didn’t first demonstrate the power of the bomb in an uninhabited site first.


from SAK:  Many thanks Mr Bernard,

I agree that ethical values seem to be having an ever diminishing hold on humanity. Some will say I exaggerate so let us say a diminishing hold on a significant portion of a growing humanity.

Couple this with the argument I constantly hear in favour of Truman’s decision which is basically: it was us or them – the allies had to beat the Nazis to the bomb – and you get a doomsday scenario. Soon scientists will be developing AI tools, genetic interventions, all sorts of weapons on one side of a divide. This will “force” the other to compete. Forget any talk of a moral high ground.  It will boil down to who has the more funds or the stronger military.

It could be that just as with a plant, an animal or a human being whole civilisations and even species grow, prosper, then wither & die. You also list the various threats facing humanity along with possibly unknown unknowns!? Given all this realistic pessimism the question posed since Greek philosophers walked the streets of Athens remains: what does a good life consist of? Well to me it belongs to those who are fighting for peace, against the development & use of such weapons, as well as against global warming etc and not to those who are profiteering from any possible threat or crisis!

A member of his war contracts investigating committee objected to his strenuous pace to which Harry S. Truman famously replied: “If you don’t like the heat, get out of the kitchen”. Soon there will be precious few cooler places to go to. Yet elections seem to be oblivious. Spain has never seen such a heat wave in its history yet that issue didn’t feature in elections this month: it was overwhelmed by questions like Catalan language in schools, LGBT etc.

I much prefer Eisenhower’s warning regarding the military-industrial complex – sadly it was during his farewell speech. Perhaps some sitting president will have the guts to speak and act against big lobbies & bigger money while still in power! It’s a major flaw with democracy.

But to end on a happy note, I keep in mind Mother Julian of Norwich’s words: “All will be well, and all manner of things will be well.”

from Harry: Thanks for sharing this with me, Dick.

Of course, you know where I stand on this. I stand with Pope Francis, who stated that the use and even the possession of the nuclear bomb was seriously evil. No excuses for using it.
My understanding is that Japan was not even the issue, but rather the Soviet Union, who was our ally in the war. We were already preparing for war with Russia to fund the armament manufacturers.

from Molly:  I appreciated the observations. Fyi, although I’ve not seen the film, I have been following the series of columns by Greg Mitchell, who has written a separate blog string of them on Oppenheimer (ie, separate from his usual blog–of which I am an erratic follower.). He also has written some books on him, and the bomb.

(look him up in Wikipedia–a very interesting bio).
[Note from Dick: Joyce has also recommended Mitchell.]
Here’s today’s column.

Here’s a list of them, scroll down to July 13 for the start of the string.

I’ve found the series excellent, (though I admit to being a few behind right now…)

“Vacation”

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POSTNOTE July 24, noon:  This morning, some unknown kids said “hi grandpa”, passably respectably, as I passed their gaggle during my walk at the health center.  They appeared to be about 8th grade, part of a group that had been doing what I call ‘wind sprints’.  I was about two miles into the walk, and didn’t say anything in response, but had only hours before completed the blog which  appears below.  The kids and I are in different “time zones”, of course.  What they don’t know is that they’re all in training for their own years ahead!

Just now, came an e-notice that a work colleague of mine just died at 86.  Time passes….

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July 10-12 two of my daughters and I took a ‘whirlwind’ trip to my ‘hometown’ of North Dakota.  It was a great trip, from which I’m still recovering (thus the quote marks around “vacation”).

Below is a sketch map for perspective.  Here is my personal narrative of three long, wonderful days: dick july 10 12 2023

How does an 83-year old cover the first 25 years of his life in a few words?  Here goes.

Years ago, when I was 16, May, 1956, I remember Eric Sevareid writing an  essay, “You Can Go Home Again”, for Colliers Magazine.  It is summarized here.  I was especially attracted to the article then, because a couple of years earlier we lived a few miles from his home town of Velva ND – the place he was writing about.

I can’t match Sevareid, who was legendary in his time, but so be it.  I pick two vignettes from my early youth, which I revisited on July 10.

On the way west, we stopped at the World’s Largest Buffalo in Jamestown – a tourist staple since about 1960.  In the surrounding ‘village’ is an old building which I asked the girls to notice:

Jamestown ND July 10, 2023

Down the road, 7 miles west on I-94, is Eldridge, where that General Store used to be, and a short way down the road was where we’d lived 1943-45.  The next day, at the ND History Museum in Bismarck, I showed the girls a photo I’d taken of the same store in 1991, when Dad and I were revisiting old sites.  Then. the abandoned store was still in Eldridge.

Eldridge store 1991

Places like these bring memories for folks like me.  As noted, we lived in Eldridge 1943-45.  I celebrated my 4th and 5th birthdays there.

Probably around my 5th birthday we lived in a little house maybe a block walk from this store, and we went to a birthday party – maybe my own – upstairs in the store.

I must have been having a bit too much fun, and forgot that nature was calling, and didn’t quite make it home when I messed in my pants – one of the earliest and most traumatic experiences of my life…at least I’ve never forgotten it, all these years!  Not one of my finest moments!

A little earlier, July 10, we drove by the former farm owned by my mothers family for over 100 years.  Lauri took an intriguing photo of the barn roof – amazingly still standing.

Busch barn rural Berlin ND July 10, 2023

I think I verbalized the back story of this barn roof with the girls.  Here it is.

The barn was built in 1916, and the barn roof in 1949, when I was 9 years old.

We were visiting the farm at the end of July, 1949, likely celebrating my Mom’s 40th birthday which had been a week or so earlier.

We were sound asleep, late at night, when one of those occasional horrific Dakota straight line windstorms came up and caused much damage.  We were all at the farm, in the house maybe 200 feet from the barn, most of us upstairs, awake and terrified – 11 of us in all, 6 adults, five little kids. I vividly remember the rain coming in through the window sill, as if a faucet had been turned on.  In the morning, we were fine, but barn roof was gone.

The barn, the morning after….  My Mom, and if you look carefully, you’ll see all five of us kids, end of July, 1949.    (I’m the “king”, with my back to the camera in foreground).  The others are Flo, Mary Ann, Frank and John (one at the time).  Dad took the picture.

Authorities can differ on how it was that we survived.  There would be the “Hail Mary” contingent, since lots of prayers were said by the elders; possibly there was also significant help from the hedge to the south of the house which deflected the wind a bit.

Whatever the case, we survived, and all of us were out there surveying the damage the next day.

Grandpa, story is, had just let the barn insurance lapse, so the loss was uninsured.  He found a barn to the east of LaMoure that had roof beams that he liked, and the family crew, including my Dad for much of the next month, built the replacement beams one by one, in a form on the hayloft floor.  Dad always had a lot of pride in their work on that roof, and it still stands today.

Here are some other photos from the trip: ND 2023 Trip Photos Jul 10 12 2023

All of our lives are a succession of stories. If you are interested, here are some memories of my growing up as a teacher’s kid in tiny towns in North Dakota: Bernard Dick School Memories

Thanks for hearing two of mine.

North Dakota State Capitol, Bismarck, from Slant Mandan Village, at the Missouri River and Ft. Abraham Lincoln south of Mandan ND

 

 

Sound of Freedom

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This is the first post since I took some time off from this blog on July 2.  It has been an active vacation, and I will catch up in coming days.

But this first post is to recommend a powerful film we saw on spur of the moment last evening.

It’s Sound of Freedom, 2023, in theaters now, nationwide.  Details for your area at the link.

A friend, 90, who walks at the same place I do, is the one who told me we should see the film.  We took her recommendation; we’re glad we did.

There was a showing at 6:20 p.m. on Tuesday, and I remarked we’d probably be the only people in the theatre – but it was nearly full, and everyone was completely attentive till after the final credits.  The film is over two hours.

There is endless food for thought throughout the film, and when you go, stay through the credits and for the few minutes post- movie commentary by the lead actor.  It’s not a waste of time.

I understand the film was ready for screening in 2018, but was held back till now.  I haven’t followed up on this, but will.  I have my own theories.  Perhaps I will comment some weeks from now.

Again, see Sound of Freedom.

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POSTNOTE: Another new film we saw was En Avant, L’Etoile du Nord Ou La Joie De “Vie”.  We were at the premiere of this 60 minute film on July 15.  There appeared to be  a full house, and the film was enthusiastically received.  It was part of the Lumieres Francaise Film Festival, part of the Minneapolis-St. Paul Film Festival.

I found this film to be very excellent, but I defer comment for now, since I do not have information on followup showings of the film, which undoubted will occur.  When I know of new showings I will let you know.  The film was excellently and expertly presented by producer/director Christine Loys.

Stay tuned, particularly if you are, or know of, people of French heritage in the midwest.

COMMENTS: 

from Dick: You’ll note above my comment “I have my own theories…comment some weeks from now.”  I guess you need to trust that these theories won’t change because of the below – but I’ll stick by my own thoughts, and remember, I saw the entire film from beginning to end.

from Jeff: The movie and it’s star and promoters have been linked to Qanon fyi. alot of advocates who fight against sex and human trafficking have been critical of it.   most experts say the vast majority of victims know their enslavors/sellers/abductors.   I haven’t seen it yet, but my far right friends(not you hahaha) gush about it which makes me wary….maybe you haven’t read about it, but it is a bit of a controversial thing in some circles.

Less controversial,  and a movie I highly recommend, on Hulu now, “The Quiet Girl”, which was nominated for best foreign film, it is in the Irish Gaelic language.    it isn’t riveting and you have to appreciate slow moving development, but it is in a sense a good companion to Sound of Freedom, as it is about parental love and the right of a child to be loved and cared for.  it hints at potential child abuse as well.  It is a beautiful film of loss and love and family.


from Arthur:  I’m glad you had a good vacation

Caution Dick please don’t get fooled by a propaganda movie

from Juel: We saw the movie yesterday.It was very well done.  Most thought provoking. I was glad that details of the child scenes were excluded. Of course, we all have imaginations. It saddens me to know that the US is the number one child trafficking country.

from Georgine: Public radio did a program this morning about Sounds of Freedom.  Talked about the main character/person is a Qanon person that believes that children are being kidnapped so the elite can eat them.  They did not mention this in the film.  Cautioned that part of the movie is factual, some is not.  I believe it was on morning edition this morning.  What a weird world we live in.

from Dick: additional comment to the four above: I’m going to do my damndest to stick with the theory I started with.  But you have to stay tuned.  Thanks for the conversation.


from Terry:

Thanks, Dick.  Interesting recommendation.  I’m content to read about it and give my money to other filmmakers.
 
Slate’s article, “How Sound of Freedom Misrepresents its Subject–and Why the Movie Is So Seductive” explains how the film is propaganda, its connections to the far right and how sex trafficking has become a hot issue for evangelicals.   Trump, Steve Bannon, Glenn Beck, and other right wing figures have been endorsing the film. ‘Ballard’s organization, Operation Underground Railroad, was started in 2013 with funding help from Glenn Beck and Beck’s listeners.’ .

 

The movie’s star has given interviews claiming that children are torturing children to harvest adrenaline from their blood…  The article links the conspiracies they are pushing to Pizzagate where Clinton and John Podesta were part of a child sex trafficking ring.  The Slate article is too long to summarize here but it’s worth reading.  It is fascinating (and disturbing) to see how propaganda films can have an impact.
There are other articles in The Guardian, NPR, the BBC that question the accuracy of the film and look at its connections to QAnon.  Last night Trump held a showing at Mar-a-lago with the star, Kari Lake, and neo-Nazi Jack Posobiec.

Also, here and here.

“Anti-trafficking groups have already said that QAnon hinders their efforts, and the film revolves around the baseless panic that vast trafficking rings are waiting to snatch up American kids,” says Mike Rothschild, an expert on QAnon and author of The Storm is Upon Us. “Trafficking is real but films like this obscure the real issue.”  Here.

from Dick, July 28, 2023:  I actually find it useful to ‘kick up some dust’ when discussing issues like this.  As noted above, I said I’d respond later, and this is the response, for good or ill!

I attended this film because a friend, 90, highly recommended it.  I really knew nothing about it beforehand.

It is, first of all, a film, which like all films and books and other expositions of all kinds present a story with a point of view.   This one was particularly gripping for me because of personal circumstances, most of which I will not relate in this space.  Suffice to say, actually experiencing something is more important than just reading about it.  With that I dispense of the most important half of my own story.

I was most interested in learning that Sound of Freedom was an expensive film to make, and was ready for release in 2018, but not actually released until 2023.  There is lots of theorizing about this.  I’m not sure of the real story, and personally I don’t care a lot about that.  Mostly I’m glad the story is being told..

Into the film mix, at least for me, was Pizzagate, a sensational and outrageous and false conspiracy theory in 2016 alleging that Democrats and Hillary Clinton had a sex ring doing human trafficking of children out of a pizza place in D.C.  This was heavily publicized at the time.

Following along shortly thereafter, in 2017, was the infamous Qanon, which is said to have at least some its roots in Pizzagate.

Then comes the personal part, as I say, mostly unstated, but….

In 2017, a woman made my acquaintance at the coffee shop, and was extremely concerned about the prospects of sex-trafficking of children at the Super Bowl, scheduled for Minneapolis in February, 2018.  She had connections with the person/family whose story I will not divulge.  She seemed sincere and even caring. I had seen her from time to time at the coffee shop and  I had her e-mail and what turned out to be her alias.

Fast forward, along came Jan. 6 2021.  and this very woman was front page news at least once, and at least three other times subsequent, in the protests allied with Jan. 6 in D.C.  She was indeed a spokesperson for the group..

In addition, my search found a 5th article with her name in 2017.

I have not seen or heard from the woman since the contacts in 2017.  She was such a prominent and public player in the 2021 protests that my guess is that she has been at minimum removed from any visible role, politically.

All of this is simply allegations, I admit; as I also admit you don’t know the rest of the story that I will not tell.  But all in all, it is quite apparent to me that there is a story in the fact that the film was held up from release for several years, and it is likely we will never know for sure, why.

Key for me: the general thrust of the film story makes sense, and in particular the last few minutes after the credits about why the film was made in the first place.

In 2017, I know I was played for a fool.  The party unidentified  in this writing is now in her 20s, and by no means out of her woods, yet.

I continue to recommend seeing this film.

En Avant L’Etoile du Nord

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Saturday, July 15 at 1 p.m. at the St. Anthony Main Theatre in Minneapolis MN is the first showing of a new film about the French in what is now Minnesota.

I think you will want to attend.  Ticketing information is here.  The film is in English.

The current trailer should be here.  (If it doesn’t come up, let me know.  It’s been finicky.)

Do pass this message along, especially to those you know in the Minneapolis-St. Paul region.  This will be a single, world premiere, showing.  Director Christine Loys will attend.  This is a one day, one time, 62 minutes presentation, as part of the Lumieres Francaises portion of the MSP Film Festival at the festivals St. Anthony Main theater.  (Link above for tickets and more information.)

En Avant is a history film about the French in Minnesota and area.

Some years ago Director Christine Loys made her first visit to this area from her home in Paris, and was astonished to find all of the French names on streets, lakes, towns, etc.

At the time, she didn’t know the rich history of the French here.  Of course, she wasn’t alone…most Minnesotans haven’t heard much about “L’Heritage Tranquille” – the quiet history of thousands upon thousands of French-descended folks who came here, many of them before the ‘official’ history of Minnesota began with statehood in 1858.  Other places, as Quebec, Louisiana, etc., are better known for their Frenchness.  But Minnesota is not an also-ran.

Christine set about working at filling in the blanks of the history with film, and her project, many years in the making, is now complete, prepared for English speaking and French speaking audiences, here and in France.

As noted, the Minneapolis showing is the world premiere.

Christine Loys has been to Minnesota often in the last dozen or so years.

Her initial acquaintance with Minnesota came as part of support for the Trans-Antarctic expedition of Will Steger, French Dr. Jean-Louis Etienne and other international explorers in 1989-90.

Here is Christine with Will Steger and Jean-Louis in 2009.

Will Steger, Christine Loys, Jean-Louis Etienne, 2009.

In 2013, Christine became one of the founding members of the French-American Heritage Foundation in Minnesota, and in numerous other ways has been involved in activities here.

Come to the film.  Enjoy.

POSTNOTE:  While I was one of those interviewed by Christine early on, about ten years ago, I will actually see the results of her work for the first time on July 15, along with everyone else.  I have no doubt that the film will be very well done.

I have known, for many years, that many Minnesotans, like me,  have some French ancestry…mostly not Voyageurs.  (In my case, I am 50% French-Canadian through my father: one of his four ancestral families – his mothers mother,  was definitely Voyageur based – Blondeau).

The 1980 U.S. Census included an ancestry component, which reported that 7.9% of Minnesotans, 321,087, had French descent (France and Canada).  This would have included myself, and my four children.  Interpolating this to 2023, this number. would now be ten Minnesotans in my own line.

Here’s a graphic of the 1980 data, per the Les Francais d’Amerique/French in America calendar for 1989: pdf of below here: French in U.S. 1980001  (work of Virgil Benoit and Marie-Reine Mikesell, from 1985-2000.)

POSTNOTE: This blog space will probably go dark until after July 15.  Time for a little vacation.  My counter tells me that this is post number 1,932 since March of 2009.  Whew!  Stop back anytime.  The archive will identify back issues, if any.

COMMENTS:

from Jeff (who hails from the U.P. of Michigan): I see I was incorrect, the states with the highest % of French are VT, NH and then Maine….which all make sense due to the border with PQ.   I see my Michigan falls in with 10% French heritage….I knew many of them, and being close to Ojibwe reservations also alot of indigenous and partly indigenous peoples had French surnames:   Roland, Menard, Antoine, Mortier…etc. I suspect my little town had at least 6-8% French surnames, probably more if you added spousal names.
Un grande histoire!

from Claude: Thanks, Dick! I will probably be there with my brother (you may recall we had a French war bride mother who died in 2017).


from Norm:  I thought that the French were only in Wisconsin in the Somerset area and all of them related to my wife who is 100%! 😊

I an cc’ing  my response to you to Beth L_ whose husband, Paul,  is of French descent as well.

In fact, Paul may well be a distant relative of my wife, Sandy, through some of the many French folks living in Somerset, Wisconsin…on her grandmother’s side aka as her mother’s side.

Small world and all of that.

from Brad: The documentary looks very interesting and full of history.  I often wonder if other families of and around our generation ( like mine) have families that did not talk of their family history.  I always chalked it up to the american melting pot scenario but I think it might be deeper – a yearning to be just American and perhaps forget about the past times of hardship and war.

 

 

Independence Day

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PRENOTE; about the Supreme Courts decisions, if you wish, here.

POSTNOTE: Letters from an American: Heather Cox Richardson comments on the early history of American independence, here; and here.

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All best wishes for a good 4th of July.  And to Canadians, as well, celebrating Canada Day, today [July 1].

Going through some of Dad’s personal papers last week I came across an 8×10 photograph of the Liberty Bell.

The photo was a promotional piece from an advocacy group.

I’ve seen the bell in person (in Philadelphia, 1972) and whether photo or reality, it is awesome, one of the powerful representations of U.S. history.  A brief history of the Liberty Bell can be read here.  (At  the end of the brochure is a brief video about the history of the bell, including its naming.)

It is in the nature of countries to have significant dates and symbols, flags and other representations of national pride.

This particular July 4, upcoming on Tuesday,  leads me to focus on Canada Day (July 1), and a local celebration  sponsored by the Canadian Consulate in Minneapolis 10 years ago, June 28, 2013.

Here’s what seems to be the outline of some of this years July 1 celebrations in Canada.

Here’s a long and interesting article about Canada’s road to independence; complicated but very interesting.  This particular history tends to forget the French era in Quebec from 1534 to 1759, beginning in 1867,  I’ll leave the argument for others, but my earliest French ancestors were in Canada at least from the early 1630s and perhaps earlier.   And the French-Canadians called themselves “Canadiens” to distinguish themselves from others in Canada.  No matter.  All’s okay.

Of course, Canada is not our only geographic neighbor in North America.  To the south is Mexico, whose day of independence is September 16, 1810.    Here’s the Library of Congress rendition of the Mexican evolution to independence.

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As you can note, the histories of Canada, Mexico, ours, and indeed all countries are complex.  History is not easily reducible to a single specific symbol, or a specific date.  Indigenous folks were late to be recognized as people most everywhere.  The major colonial players were Spanish, English and French, all at about the same time.

Every country among the 194 nations in the world have significant milestones in their own histories.

I chose here to highlight the three major nations that comprise the North American Continent.  Much is made of the distinctions between these countries.  But regardless of rhetoric there is great interdependence among these countries, indeed all countries of the planet, in these times.

June 26, 2013, I saw our interdependence with out neighbor celebrated in person at a social event hosted by the Canadian Consulate in Minneapolis.  Then-Consul Jamshed Merchant invited us to the Consulate Canada Day celebration.  Representatives of the United States and Mexican government, and of course Canada, gave brief comments on how the three nations cooperate on a daily basis in many ways.

Sharing the platform with the speakers were four flags: those of Canada, United States, Mexico and the state of Minnesota, pictured below.  (The green is part of the Mexico flag.  As I recall, the speaker in the photo represented Mexico).  Note the sign: “Growing Stronger Economies TOGETHER“.  If I recall correctly, the rhetoric around the NAFTA agreement (North American Free Trade Agreement –  adopted 1994) was getting more intense: who gets what from cooperation, not an easy question with easy answers.  Today, I’d like to modify that sign, for all of us: “Growing Stronger Together”.

Each year of the event – I attended several – Canada had a brochure for those of us attending.  Here is the brochure for 2013: Canada-U.S.001.

I have fond memories of all of the gatherings I attended.

Whatever the case, you get the idea.  People and countries which work together do better, than fighting with each other.  It’s a lesson we find it difficult to learn.