Abraham Lincoln

I have justed returned from watching the film "Lincoln" with my husband. The acting was incredible and Daniel Day-Lewis deserves his accolades. I didn't know much about Abraham Lincoln before- well American history and politics just don't form part of an English education, sadly- but he certainly was an impressive guy.
At the moment when the 13th amendment which outlawed slavery and made that act an integral part of the constitution was passed, I found it really moving to think about all those men and women whose whole lives were changed from that point forward. Tears came to my eyes as I thought about the enormity of it all. How one man had the courage to stand up for and fight politically for what he believed. I thoroughly recommend the film to you. It is not fast moving (and does get your brain working overtime when American politics are discussed using old fashioned language!) so don't expect a pacy film. It is about grit, determination and character development. It also makes you want to be heroic and to make a difference.

I was also deeply saddened to think about the entrenched racism and how people used the Bible to back up prejudices that Jesus never showed during his life and that the Bible does not condone.

I read a series of books by Mildred D. Taylor based on the lives of black sharecropping families in the deep south, after the abolition of slavery, but when blacks were treated as second class citizens. The first book in the series is "Roll of thunder, hear my cry". It is really a series for teenagers. I read it with my children when they were teenagers and we cried and fumed at the injustice and the callous way in which black families were treated. Another recommendation- two in one post! You can buy Roll of Thunder, hear my cry from Amazon for £5.99  http://www.amazon.co.uk/Roll-Thunder-Puffin-Teenage-Fiction/dp/0140371745/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1359412870&sr=1-5 Once you start this series, you will want to read all of them!

The opther thing that I thought about while watching Lincoln was the fact that slavery, though abolished in most countries, maybe all, is actually more prevalent today than in the days of Wilberforce or Lincoln. Human trafficking is in every country. If you think it's not happening in your country, you are wrong. We need to become more aware of the issues and ensure that we support anti-trafficking charities and organisations. I can recommend Stop the Traffik as a charity doing excellent work which is based in the UK. Third recommendation- visit their website! www.stopthetraffik.org