“In such a world of conflict, a world of victims and executioners, it is the job of thinking people, not to be on the side of the executioners.”- Camus
Nothing about Israel* yields to simple questions let alone simple answers, but Israel’s actions in Gaza now bring to mind what Thucydides said about the relationship between the Athenian Empire and the Melians: “The strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must.” The Israelis responded to the horror of the October 7 massacres and hostage taking (over 1200 murdered; rape used by Hamas as a weapon […]
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Say Nothing is the story of the murder of Jean McConville, a widowed mother of ten, by the IRA in 1972. She was accused of being an informer to the British Army. The accusation was false. The book is also the best history of The Troubles yet written, Jean McConville’s murder being described within the larger context of that many-sided civil war. The Barn is the story of the murder of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old black […]
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Cynicism is a kind of disease. Maybe it begins with a doubt that anything that appears to be good will make any difference. Or that this good person or situation must be inherently corrupt, and that it’s just a matter of time before their real nature shows itself. It is a belief that no one holds to his or her integrity in the presence of power or wealth. Cynicism assumes […]
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Christmas comes in 2 days so likely I’m too late with this entreaty, but perhaps you will consider it for a post-Christmas surprise. Buy books for those you love. Buy books to treat yourself. Put your phone in a cabinet, your iPad in a closet, turn the TV off, give your headphones to the dog. Read books and encourage others to read them as well. Let me go to another […]
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