I stayed up until the wee hours this morning, to finish reading The Lacuna, by Barbara Kingsolver. It's a truly amazing book, which sweeps you from the annihilation of the Aztecs, through the Kahlo/Rivera/Trotsky saga, and on to the whole McCarthy Anti-Americanism debacle. Though I loved reading the book, I have to say, it has left me in one helluva funk, for it makes you realize that we humans just do not learn from our mistakes, and history really does repeat itself. There always have been, and always will be: greedy, power-hungry zealots and witch-hunters, who draw attention to themselves by shaking their fists and shouting things like "We've got to take back uh-MER-icuh!"; mobs of scared, confused people who let them get away with it; and many, many good people who get crucified in the process. The only thing that changes is the names. Kinda makes you want to puke, when you think about it.
P.S. Many thanks to blogs.e-rockford.com for the image of McCarthy, onepennysheet.com for the image of Limbaugh, and celebritynetworth.com for the image of Beck.
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5 comments:
Remember some of these fist-shaking angry people are the reason that we ate not still part of the United Kingdom. There are appropriate times for dissent.
Believe me, I will never forget what our forefathers went through, I just don't see any resemblance whatsoever between that and what this post is about. One is the pursuit of freedom and happiness, the other is the pursuit of money, power and celebrity.
Can't watch those zealots (of any political/personal persuasion). Gotta keep on doing The Good Work: connecting and practicing compassion, and in doing so reminding folks of our shared humanity.
d.a. - I agree whole-heartedly. That pretty much sums up my reasons for landing here, my years working with AFS (hosting and placing exchange students), and now my work with The Bountiful Sprout. Just trying to make those connections!
Another thing one can't do - write blog posts when one is sleep deprived and feeling rather raw and vulnerable. Most especially, never, ever, ever answer a comment in that condition! So dear anonymous, whoever you are, I apologize for my snipeiness. I'll try not to let it happen again!
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