Sunday, November 10, 2019
Went to the library this afternoon and picked up these two books that have been on my mind since watching Harriet last week. I know bits and pieces about Frederick Douglass, but not the whole story. I've read one of his three memoirs. Now is as good a time as any to read all three memoirs as well as the biography that won the Pulitzer Prize last year.
In so many ways, the Trump presidency is an extension of the failure of Reconstruction after the U.S. Civil War of the 19th Century. He represents the schism of the United States that falls upon racial attitudes, tribalism, us vs. them politics, and an increasing victimized paranoia that has infected the Republican party since Trump has become president. It's gotten to the point where the GOP sees Dems as the actual enemy instead of countries such as Russia or China. There's no arguing with such irrational characters. It's comforting to read about true American heroes like Frederick Douglas. It's one way to direct so much negative energy toward the positive endeavor of learning about an amazing historic figure who lived the kind of life that seems unimaginable.
Went to the library this afternoon and picked up these two books that have been on my mind since watching Harriet last week. I know bits and pieces about Frederick Douglass, but not the whole story. I've read one of his three memoirs. Now is as good a time as any to read all three memoirs as well as the biography that won the Pulitzer Prize last year.
In so many ways, the Trump presidency is an extension of the failure of Reconstruction after the U.S. Civil War of the 19th Century. He represents the schism of the United States that falls upon racial attitudes, tribalism, us vs. them politics, and an increasing victimized paranoia that has infected the Republican party since Trump has become president. It's gotten to the point where the GOP sees Dems as the actual enemy instead of countries such as Russia or China. There's no arguing with such irrational characters. It's comforting to read about true American heroes like Frederick Douglas. It's one way to direct so much negative energy toward the positive endeavor of learning about an amazing historic figure who lived the kind of life that seems unimaginable.
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