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March 31 readingsMy previous post, while I think germaine, was just venting. So I decided I'd try to post something more worthwhile, and constructive.
My current reading list includes two very interesting books:
Confessions of an Economic Hit Man - by John Perkins, a self-confessed "economic hit man." If you've ever wondered where all the US Taxpayer dollars labled "foreign aide" go, when they go to third world countries, or the rather specific directions our international economic policy have been driven, or who's driving them, then you should read this book. I'm in the opening pages, and I'll tell you, it's quite an eye-opener. I, for one, had sort of sketched out in my mind some of the things that Perkins essentially documents here - like the fact that the dollars flowing out of the World Bank tend to flow right back into the coffers of Halliburton, Brown and Root, General Electric, and other major American corporations, or how this source of debt basically subjugates much of the third world. It's far from a "liberal" stand on issues. It's quite an interesting story, literally the concience-laden stories of a hit man - an economic hit man.
Guns, Germs and Steel: the Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond. Ever wondered why the world is essentially dominated by technology and culture that emerged from the eurasian cultures? Not what happened starting from 1400 AD, but more like how we got there from 11,000 BC. Diamond, a biologist with extensive field experience, explores how we got the way we are. How western culture, forging ahead with steel, aided by guns and germs, essentially overwhelmed almost every other culture on the planet. It's especially interesting reading during this period, in part due to what's been evolving since 9/11: the clash of an old-world culture with a new-world culture, faciliatated through guns, airplanes, and, possibly, germs.
Finally, I haven't started this one yet, but I intend to:
Our Endangered values: American's Moral Crises, by Jimmy Carter. Yes, the former president. To listen to a former Democratic president that seems the quintessential secular liberal ponder the spiritual aspects of morality as they relate to our current socio-political issues - war, growing divide between rich and poor, etc. - should be an eye-opener for anyone that professes to be a Christian. His arguments should make you consider, or possibly reconsider, some of the rhetoric being espoused by so-called "Religious conservatives," or "Evangelical conservatives." Carter is, for example, against Abortion on moral and spiritual grounds - but doesn't believe we need to be legislating morality, that it should, in the end, be unnecessary to do so - in a truly moral society.
As for "tough guy fighting," well, from my perspective, it's a sign of our declining civility - if not our declining level of civilization in the United States. If you've ever read The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (not exactly bathroom reading, to be sure), this sort of thing should give you chills.
Happy reading! Comments (6)
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