2022 Life Logs, Day 08: Same, Same, but Different
Date: Saturday, January 8, 2022
Weather: Sunny and Cold; High Temp 27, Low Temp 18 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
There was no snow falling today. We had beautiful sunshine. But otherwise today was pretty much the same as yesterday for me. It is what I call same, same, just a little different. I worked on the two puzzles I have going, did some reading, worked on my computer photo editing and organization project, walked and played outside with Shadow, did some cooking. And tonight, I started watching Peter Jackson’s new documentary about The Beatles. I find it fascinating to watch the creative process the Beatles used to make music. The sunshine and The Beatles were the ‘different’ today.
I am struggling to get this month’s book read before our Zoom meeting on Tuesday. The book is The Immortal Irishman: The Irish Revolutionary Who Became an American Hero. It is a good book, but not a fast, easy read. I think I spend too much time making comparisons between then (the mid 1800’s) and now. I will share one paragraph to give you an idea of what I am talking about.
“To those who took the country’s founding principles to heart, the rise of the nativists was dispiriting. “As a nation, we began by declaring that ‘all men are created equal,”’ Abraham Lincoln wrote a friend in 1855. “We now practically read it ‘all men are created equal except Negroes.’ When the Know-Nothings [the Know-Nothing political party] get control, it will read ‘all men are created equal except Negroes, and foreigners, and Catholics.’”
The Know-Nothing political party reminds me of today’s Do-Nothing (except obstruct) Republican Party and the rise of the nativists certainly rings true today. We could substitute Blacks for Negroes and Muslims for Catholics, and the paragraph would very much reflect the state of things today. In addition to the comparisons, there is so much about the plight of the people of Ireland during the 1800’s that I am learning while reading this book. This makes it a slow read. So, I am going to stop writing and get to bed and read a little more before the end of this day. I know I won’t finish the book by Tuesday, but hopefully I’ll make it at least two-thirds of the way through.
