What's Going On Here?

There are SO MANY wonderful book review blogs out there and I can't compete with them, that is for sure. So this is not a book review blog. This is just a way for me to organize what I have read so that I can be better at matching the right book to the right person. The blog title comes from the brilliant mind of the most talented woman who ever lived, Ms. Judy Garland. The full quote is, "Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of someone else." That is what I hope to do here and in ever aspect of my life.

Monday, May 29, 2017

Greed

There are many, many people who do not have homes in our country.  There are many, many people who do have homes but they are not safe.  There are many, many people who have homes but they don't have enough food to eat.  There are so many, many people living at or below or just above the poverty line.  And it is frustrating to see how much greed there is in our country, in the world, in myself.
My brother and I were talking today about our country's current president.  And wondering how he was elected, with no experience, with such a vulgar history.  And we think it all comes down to greed.  To people wanting more than what they have currently at the expense of others.  People are willing to overlook all kinds of behavior, are willing to overlook character completely, to say nothing of experience, if it means that they might have a chance of keeping what is they see as theirs, or making sure that someone else isn't getting something they don't "deserve."  Money.  The dollar sign.  And our current president is a very rich man.  He got his money the old fashioned way, he inherited it.  And so maybe those who support him thought he knew a thing or two about making money.  Truth is, he didn't really do all that well with the money he inherited.  Compounding interest would happen to anyone.  Yes, he worked hard, but yes, he really didn't make a grand splash and he never could have done any of it without his inheritance and his father backing up his loans.  So yes, he is hard working man.  But no, he isn't an overly smart businessman.  So yeah.
But anyway...we need to care more about one another and less about what we want for ourselves. I include myself in that, too.  Even thought I didn't vote for President Trump, I could have done more to see that he was not elected.  But does greed always win the day?  In this life is seems so.
But I digress.
Paper Things is a novel about homelessness.  It is a terrific novel.  It is a novel about families.  It is a novel about friendship and love and complications, it is a novel about life that ripped my heart out and probably will rip yours out as well.  Jennifer Richard Jacobson is a new-to-me author.  I am so thankful for her words and I am sorry that this book wasn't on my radar before now.  Excellent.

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