“I’ve lived long enough to know that faith and trust in the kindness of others is a hard-won oblivion, is a very strong armor. It may hurt, in the short run, to have an open, trusting heart. It may mean, in the short run, that you are weak. But in the long run it can mean survival.”
November 2016
Mischling
“It must have been like stringing a harp for someone who played his harp with a knife, or binding a book for someone whose idea of reading was feeding pages to a fire.”
Note: Election Results
It has been one week since the United States made the irrevocable decision to bestow its most sacred title to the most profane and undeserving man. To envision the president-elect in the White House is nothing short of sacrilege, and I suspect that the betrayal will be freshly felt every day that he remains there.
If there is room for hope, I hope that democracy considers this an opportunity to prove its resilience; I hope that the country proves that it can bend and fold in unprecedented ways only to straighten itself up, weathered but stronger and more refined; I hope progress proves inevitable.
As events continue to painfully unfold, let us remain on the right side of history. Let us learn, collect and connect ideas, and act accordingly. With renewed enthusiasm, Bookswept will continue to share the wide range of perspectives that are born of literature. It may become harder than ever to extract truth from our leaders and institutions. The opposite can be said of our books. Let us put them to good use.