Author Archives: Margaret Carroll-Bergman

200 Years and Beyond!

Dear Friends,

Henry David Thoreau birthplace

As we come to the end of Henry David Thoreau’s Bicentennial year, I want to thank you for your support in helping to carry Henry’s legacy forward toward the next 200 years.

From left: Thoreau Society president Michael Schleifer, Thoreau Farm president Ken Lizotte and Thoreau Farm director Joseph Wheeler reveal the Henry David Thoreau Forever Stamp at the United States Postal Service special dedication ceremony on July 12, 2017.

Henry’s birthday bash on July 12 was one for the books! Folks from all over came to Thoreau Farm, Henry’s birthplace, to celebrate the 200th birthday of the man who went to the woods to live deliberately.

Festivities included celebrity speakers, a special issue of the U.S.P.S. Henry David Thoreau Forever Stamp, and the launch of our book, “What Would Henry Do?”

“What Would Henry Do?” can be ordered at Amazon.com, The Thoreau Society Shop at Walden Pond, or by your local bookseller.

This exceptional collection of essays features thoughtful contributions from President Jimmy Carter, Gregory Maguire, Frank Serpico, Lawrence Buell, Ed Begley, Jr., Laura Dassow Walls, and many other Thoreau scholars and activists.

Our programs this year included:
Natural History Tours
Mushroom Walks
Author Talks
Children’s Events
Presentations on Walden Pond

Your support allows us to offer free admission, guided tours, and educational events.

Thoreau Farm is the only historic house dedicated to the life and work of Henry David Thoreau. We need your support to keep the doors open and to reach Thoreauvians, old and new, who seek to learn more about Henry, the ethical man who led a deliberate life.

While community generosity in this bicentennial year has been strong, there is always more we can do. Every gift is appreciated. In honor of the Thoreau 200th, with your donation of $200 or more, you will receive a copy of “What Would Henry Do?”, our special tribute to Thoreau’s work. (“What Would Henry Do?” has a retail value of $24.95.)

Donate now by clicking on this link!

Here’s to Henry! Thank you for your support of Thoreau Farm.

Ken Lizotte, President

P.S. If you  have already made your 2017 gift to Thoreau Farm, thank you!

Free Speech Around the World

By Harriet Martin

The law will never make a man free; it is men who have got to make the law free. – Henry David Thoreau

While on a trip in Northern Europe, I visited the Oslo Parliament building in the capital of Norway. Oslo is the center for government in the country of 5.2 million people. Scandinavian countries like Norway are famous for their constitutional protections of free speech. Norway gained a constitution in May of 1814, yet censorship has been banned since 1770. On the World Press Freedom Index, Norway ranks one out of 180 countries. The United States ranks 43. These Northern European countries paint a picture of a land, where Thoreau would look on in favor. Thoreau’s ideas conflicted with the mainstream in his time; the protection for those with new ideas  in some countries today would make him proud. Yet, the range of free speech protections can vary greatly around the world.

Parliament building in Oslo, Norway. (Credit: www.visitoslo.com)

On the negative end of spectrum, the first country we will look at is Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is a country rich in resources, namely oil, located in the Middle East. The Saudi government consists of a theocracy headed by a king, who commands the military forces. Internet censorship is one of the most prevalent examples of free speech limitations in the country. According to Free Speech and Free Press, over 2,000 pages are blocked, including pages on religion, humor and media. The right to peaceful protest, a cornerstone of American democracy, is definitely not followed in Saudi Arabia. Activists in the country have to live with the risk that they could be injured, or in some cases killed by police. 

Another country with a questionable record on free speech is China. A modern superpower with over 1.3 billion people, China will imprison journalists. NPR reports that China has imprisoned a record 199 journalists. In the graphic below, from the website Freedom House, countries are ranked by their level of freedom, which is a metric that takes into account many factors. The prevalence of free speech protections is a good indicator of the stability of a country.

Europe is completely free, when compared to the African and Asian continents. Africa and Asia are the current centers for political turmoil, which is reflected in how “free” they are. As you can see China as well as Saudi Arabia are a resounding “not free.”

Enough virtual globetrotting, let’s turn our gaze to home. In the U.S Constitution, the First Amendment guarantees every citizen very important rights: Freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly and petition. It allows citizens to hold different points of view and is what makes the cultural mixing pot of America so fascinating. For the purpose of this blog, we will look at freedom of speech and freedom of the press.

However, the U.S is not completely free. As mentioned earlier, the U.S ranks 43 on the World Press Freedom Index, down from a ranking of 20.  This low ranking on the World Press Freedom Index is attributed to the Obama administration’s aggressive prosecution of whistleblowers that included eight Espionage Act Prosecutions as well of its investigation of journalists, according to rootsaction.org.

While the world and the United States have changed significantly since the time of Thoreau, it’s more vital than ever that we stand for what we believe in so we can live up to our moniker of  “nation of the free.”

Harriet Martin is a youth blogger for The Roost and a student at Concord-Carlisle High School.

 

    

    

From Germany, with love

I’ve never put a rock on the rough pile of stones at Thoreau’s cabin site, until a 59-year-old man from Germany sent me one from a lake near his hometown and asked me to hike out and place it there for him.

Werner Meyknecht

Werner Meyknecht

Werner Meyknecht is an IT Project Manager who lives in Recke, Germany. A Thoreau enthusiast, Meyknecht wanted to celebrate the Thoreau Bicentennial with fellow Thoreauvians in Concord, Massachusetts. He had hoped to come to Concord and be a part of the festivities on July 12, but money, time, and distance kept Meyknecht in Germany. He reached out to the Town of Concord for help. One of the town employees put Meyknecht in touch with Thoreau Farm.

This seemed fitting, since Thoreau Farm is the birthplace of Henry, and what better organization to help Meyknecht and his desire to be a part of the Thoreau Bicentennial, without actually traveling to Concord!

After a volley of emails— Meyknecht doesn’t speak English well and I don’t speak German — Meyknecht via the miracle of Google translation services  — was able to tell me that he was going to send a stone to Thoreau Farm, and asked if I could I place it on the cairn at the cabin site at Walden Pond.

Meyknecht is a solo sailor in a vast sea when it comes to finding like-minded Thoreauvians in his hometown.

“Unfortunately, I don’t know how popular he is in Germany,” wrote Meyknecht. “He who seeks finds. I would like to ask you to place a stone, which I have chosen from my homeland, to the place where his cabin was.”

How could I refuse?

The stone arrived two days before our birthday celebration at Thoreau Farm, but not without some anxiety on Meyknecht’s part. It was expensive to send the 3-pound rock in the mail, but Meyknecht’s friend, Peter Berkenharn of Mettingen, offered to help with the postage. It arrived packed in a styrofoam box, placed inside a simple cardboard box decorated with German and United States custom’s stickers.

 Peter Berkenharn

Peter Berkenharn

Meyknecht, Berkenharn’s and Henry’s initials were hand carved into the stone they had decorated with gold paint.

Carved into this rock are WM, PB, and HDT.

Carved into this rock (small rock)  are WM, PB, and HDT.

“I like attentive people who have a clear conception and clear ideas,” wrote Meyknecht about his love of Henry Thoreau. “People who don’t follow the mainstream. No other author has impressed me so much like Henry David Thoreau. He has really struck a chord with me. It is perhaps because my inner spirit comes very close to that of Henry. Have your courage to show your rough edges. Don’t be a yes-man. … All citizens of Concordia will know what I mean.”
 Thank you, Werner Meyknecht, for reminding us how lucky we are to have our spiritual home of Concord, whether we are in Germany or in New England.
 Werner2