Booking Through Thursday

Today is the 7th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. I know that not all of you who read are in the U.S., but still, it’s vital that none of us who are decent people forget the scope of disaster that a few, evil people can cause–anywhere in the world. It’s not about religion, it’s not about politics, it’s about the acknowledgment that humans should try to work together, not tear each other apart, even when they disagree.

So, feeling my way to a question here … Terrorists aren’t just movie villains any more. Do real-world catastrophes such as 9/11 (and the bombs in Madrid, and the ones in London, and the war in Darfur, and … really, all the human-driven, mass loss-of-life events) affect what you choose to read? Personally, I used to enjoy reading Tom Clancy, but haven’t been able to stomach his fight-terrorist kinds of books since.

And, does the reality of that kind of heartless, vicious attack–which happen on smaller scales ALL the time–change the way you feel about villains in the books you read? Are they scarier? Or more two-dimensional and cookie-cutter in the face of the things you see on the news?

To best answer this question i need to categorize my reading before and after I went to Africa as an aide worker.

Before I actually believed that the world could be changed in this life time. On Sept 11 i had yet to step foot on The African continent so i was still under the idyllic impression that that yes, read the right books, write the right papers, do the right programs and presto a better world.

However I am now what i preferred to be called a bit more realistic. The problems of this world is far deeper than a book or a paper can portray. it also has the added dimension of me knowing people personally that has had to live through the horrors of war and genocide so some days i just cant stomach it. So I gloss over the books on politics. Sad but true.

I know i will probably be flamed for this, but we in the US are even luckier than we could ever imagine. We were attacked once and we still have all the luxuries as before. True, the economy may be down in the dumps but other than that well we are showered with blessings. i find it hard to garner up the appropriate amount of dismay when i have seen people in a bona fide war zone.