I picked up Mitch Albom’s The Little Liar wondering if I needed to read another story about the Holocaust. I almost didn’t check it out. We live in a world at war. We live in a world where starvation, strife, and civilian casualties are collateral damage of those wars. Yet war continues to be waged. I am glad I checked the book out. I read it in less than twenty-four hours. A unique voice serves as narrator in The Little Liar. It is Truth. Albom masterfully uses that narrator to explore the meaning of truth and to illustrate the horror of man’s inhumanity to man. Four characters, Nico, his brother Sebastian, Fannie, and Udo pull the reader into the story and demand the reader’s attention from start to finish. In a way, their stories have been told before, but as written, they seem startlingly fresh and compelling. In the context of what’s happening in the world, their stories are more than relevant. Rather than mar the story by retelling it, I want to share what I call the wisdom of Albom. “Never be ashamed of a scar. In the end, scars tell the stories of our lives, everything that hurt us, and everything that healed us.” “But questioning a madman is like interrogating a spider. They both go on spinning their webs until someone squashes them out of existence.” “How could fishing boats keep rolling so innocently? How could the world eat when all those prisoners were starving? How could things look so terrifyingly normal here…?” Why do world leaders create scenarios where these questions still are relevant today? Read this story. Keep asking the question. Why do we still wage war?
A letter to the DNC and all potential Demeocratic presidential candidates
An opening platform of “Beat Trump” is not enough, Mr. Biden, and stoops to the pep rally antics of Mr. Trump, well illustrated by Ben Fountain in Beautiful Country Burn Again.
If you want my vote, regardless of your gender, faith, or sexual orientation, these are the problems I want addressed in your campaign:
- Clear distinction between pro-birth v. pro-life. It is not the physical act of bringing a child into the world that forces women to consider termination of pregnancy, it is the provision of food, health care, education, shelter, and emotional support. If a woman is a criminal for terminating a pregnancy, why isn’t a man criminalized for not taking responsibility for his off-spring. It takes two to conceive.
- In a wealthy, industrialized nation, health care is a necessity and a right. If this country is to maintain its place of leadership in the world, affordable, accessible healthcare and medications should be available for citizens. Conscience must come before capitalism and profits.
- A clear-cut plan for the humane management of immigration must be forthcoming, not in a few years, now.
- Proactive action must be taken to preserve the environment for future generations.
- Politics must maintain a modicum of civility and address issues rather than using name calling and obscure allegations to incite voters.
- Term limits must be considered so those who govern are in touch with the present, not languishing in the past’s quagmire of social mores and standards.
- Elected officials must be held accountable to the people who elected them.
Just a few thoughts for the day after my morning coffee.