The Hunger Games of the 1860's on Americian Soil

If you wanted to watch a movie in the theaters right now, "The Hunger Games" would be consider THE MOVIE to go to!  Although I have not seen it yet, I do plan to go next week with my husband.  I was sucked into Suzanne Collins' trilogy that the movie is based on, and read it in less than a week.  These books have crossed all generational boundaries with it's plot and underlying themes.

As "The Hunger Games" hit the theaters this last night month, the theology behind the story as become very controversial, with many speaking out against it's violence and oppressive tactics.  But using hunger and depriving a people of their basic needs to suppress them is not a new tactic.  This became startling clear to me has I read "Gone With the Wind" by Margret Mitchell. 

During the American Civil War in the 1860's, the main reason the North was able to beat the South was the blockading, burning and pillaging that the Union troops did to the common citizens of the Confederate families.  The North basically played a huge "Hunger Game" with the South.  The Union left the Confederates so starved, depleted, and without any resources to met their basic needs that they had no strength left to fight.  This war almost wiped out a complete generation of Southern men. 

Yet when we talk about the American Civil War in our history classes and books, we do not feel that starving the Confederates into submission was inappropriate at all.  We had to do whatever it took to bring the South down on it's knees to free the black slaves.  We as Americans, give our stamp of approval to the "Hunger Games" that were played on the Confederate Southern citizens. 

Reading "Gone With the Wind" also brought to light how difficult the reconstruction of the South was.  The North striped all Confederates citizens of their rights - to vote, to protect their families, to hold professional jobs and the right to have a fair trial in a court of law.  The actual "Hunger Games" continued well into the following decades after the war was officially over.  The North wanted to make sure that the South stayed down on its knees for years to come - and it work, they did.

If we do not learn from of our nation's past mistakes, history has a way of repeating itself.  Why does this modern fiction of "The Hunger Games" cross all generational boundaries today?  Because our current society in America is on a collision course to a major crisis.  We all feel it at some level.  What are we going to do when it hits?  Will our freedoms prevail?  Or are we destined to relive the horror that the South experienced in the 1860's.  What will our own "Hunger Games" look like?  Are you ready....

March's Title Swap

Between Parent and Child - Dr. Haim G. GinottHow to Talk so Kids Will Listen and Listen so Kids Will Talk - Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish
How to Talk so Kids can Learn at Home and School - Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish
The Courage of Sarah Noble - Alice Dalgliesh
The Bears on Hemlock Mountain - Alice Dalgliesh
Sounder - William H. Armstrong
DIY Projects for the Self- Sufficient Homeowner
Lost Laysen - Margaret Mitchell
Becoming George Washington - Glenn Beck
The Foundation Trilogy - Isaac Asimov