Tea at Trianon: The Noise Factor

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

The Noise Factor

Here is a review by Heidi Hess Saxton of Teresa Tomeo's book Noise!

When I was in first grade, my parents tossed out their television set, and did not replace it until my youngest sister left home. Now, in theory this sounds like wonderful parenting – at the time I remember feeling like a freak. I would baby-sit the neighbors’ kids for free, just so I had access to the tube. It was like a drug … and to this day, TV remains a guilty pleasure of mine. I’m particularly fond of “TVLand” and “Nick at Nite” reruns, where I get to see for the first time the shows I missed the first time around. (Since adopting foster kids, I also follow “Judging Amy,” but that’s a different story.)

What did we do with all those hours? Mostly, we read. I started organ lessons when I was five. I taught myself ventriloquism and sign language (I’ve long since forgotten them both), and earned every badge in the Girl Scout Handbook. But mostly, I read. It wasn’t a bad life, and heaven knows it gave me a good vocabulary. And yet, when I grew old enough to earn my own money, media got the lion’s share!

So now, with my own kids, I’ve tried to balance it a bit more. When he first came to us all wild-eyed and bushy-tailed (it was the super-soaked Luvs, I think), Christopher had this … thing for Toy Story. Yes, the movie. The sight of Zurg would set him off yelling and spinning and zapping his wrist lasers with unbridled glee. It was a little unsettling, actually; the rest of the time he hid under tables and inside closets, striking out with his little fists if anyone came too close with the only word in his linguistic arsenal: “NO!!!”

So, we watched Toy Story nearly every night together – we thought it was a good way to bond. But gradually we realized … every time we did that, he got a little wilder. Finally, one night he tried to smother the baby with the dog bed. After that, we put away the movie. We found out later that Christopher and his big brother watched that movie every day after school (and that Kenneth once pushed his two-year-old brother down the stairs in a misguided attempt to get him to fly like Buzz). Christopher remembered this, too … and yet it did not dampen his warm-and-fuzzy feelings for the movie. Still, we slept better with it safely out of reach.

“Little pitchers have big ears…” the saying goes. The sights and sounds of childhood can leave an indelible impression that, as adults, we sometimes forget to appreciate. The relative size of the bug on the bedroom wall (or the angry parent waggling a finger just inches from an upturned face) is nothing compared to the expanse of the imagination processing it. A noise doesn’t have to be ear-shattering to be harmful to a young child … I learned this lesson the hard way. Even “educational” children’s programming can have a negative impact if it is simply on for “noise.” While adults (myself included) sometimes avoid the silence, children need it in order to let their imaginations soar.

In her book NOISE! (Ascension Press), Teresa Tomeo addresses the inherent connection between the “connectedness” of the media in the lives of our children and the “disconnect” we sense in family life. Whether we are tempted to turn to the media for a “breather” of virtual adult interaction when our children are small (I’m as guilty as the next person here), or whether it is our children who are trying to tune us out … This book will help you to make deliberate, faith-filled choices about where the limits need to be.

Listen to Teresa Tomeo's “CATHOLIC CONNECTION” on THURSDAY, MARCH 29 9:30A.M. (E.S.T.). Call in at 877-573-7825. (Can’t get EWTN Radio in your area? Listen on the Internet at http://www.avemariaradio.net/catholic-online-radio.php)