Today we honor those who sacrificed their lives to keep the world open and free. Peace and freedom is a never ending project that requires commitment on all levels and, unfortunately, sometimes unavoidable wars.
As a kid, I loved Astrid Lindgren’s books. Not so much Pippi Longstocking and her early series, but her grand fairy tales “The Brothers Lionheart“, “Mio, My Son” and “Ronja the Robber’s Daughter“. They are set in times of snow white messenger pigeons, black tyrants with evil dragons and plundering robbers who could have been Robin Hood’s distant cousins. Although set in a fairy tale time and landscape, they are universal and time-less, covering all human traits like good and evil, brave and cowardly, humorous and serious and love and hate. The kids in them experience horrible things but learn to overcome their fears to do what is necessary to save the world from evil and eternal darkness. “Then Jonathan said there were things you have to do, even if they are dangerous. ‘Otherwise you aren’t a human being, but just a bit if filth.’ ” – from “The Brothers Lionheart”
Seeing on the news what is going on in the Middle East today makes these books more important than ever. When I read them as a kid, and again just a couple of years ago for my own kids, I could not imagine that I would see scenes from the books on the news. But that is where the world is today and we are more dependent than ever on having brave men and women defend the freedom we want to keep enjoying.
If you haven’t read these books already, now is the time!
Elisabeth
