Disturbing Thoughts: Election 2024

 

My mind is reeling. I am heartbroken. Worried about our future. 

Below is a small collection of quotes that played havoc with my thoughts this election cycle. 

Some are from a book I was reading, others are from brief encounters with other texts while volunteering at the library. All these thoughts continue to swirl in my mind, I feel I am trying to put a puzzle together without all the pieces. To make sense of it all. 

From Mother Daughter Traitor Spy by Susan Ella McNeal

“True love of country is a regard for all people of one’s country…We’re all in this American experiment together.” (109)

“There was a dazzle of danger in his gaze, the hypnotic promise of power. It was exhilarating. Narcotic. And terrifying. Fuhrer Kontakt, it was called with Hitler - an intense magnetism that could make people believe, in that moment, they were the only one in the room, the center of the universe. It made them willing to follow him anywhere.” (258)

“It could never happen here -  and it not only could have, but almost did. And there’s every reason to believe it could happen again in the future.” (302)

From: 1984 by George Orwell

“A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves, and traitors are not victims…but accomplices.” (Introduction)

“Before we can study the central issues of life today, we must destroy the prejudices and fallacies born of previous centuries.” - Leo Tolstoy (Introduction)

“Give me your tired, your poor, 

Your huddled masses yearning to be free, 

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

-Emma Lazarus, inscription on the Statue of LIberty (Introduction)

From: Final campaign speech of 1940

“We Americans…are characters in this living book of democracy. But we are also its author.  It falls upon us now to say whether the chapters that are to come will tell a story of retreat or a story of continued advance.” - President Franklin D. Roosevelt

I think what bothers me the most is I am feeling a tad bit cynical. Believing only selfishness motivates people. I am going to move in a positive direction. Hope, not hatred and ugliness. Kindness. Empathy. Love.

“God Save the Mark”

“There is a sucker born every minute.” - P.T. Barnum

I had a hard time placing when this story occurred…from some of the language, I would guess 1930s. However, telephone booths sprinkled throughout NYC threw me off. 1950s? ‘60s?

Either way Fred Fitch has to be the most gullible human being on the planet. I was frustrated with him. Worried about him. And down right done with him about half way through the novel. To call this a romp, would be accurate. Paranoia. So called friends. The long con. Money. Greed.

I like to tell you there was a “happily-ever-after.” but I don’t want to spoil it for you. Let’s just say that Fred got what he deserved and leave it at that.

Mother Daughter Traitor Spy

 

Historical Fiction. 1940. 

This book hit me hard. So many times I wanted to walk away, but like a car crash on the highway, I just couldn’t look away. The election results of 2024 collided with the hate and blame running rampant in this book. Why this book? Why now? It had been in my “to be read” pile for over a year. 

The quotes that grabbed me by the throat will become part of a separate blog post, but for now here they are…

“True love of country is a regard for all people of one’s country…We’re all in this American experiment together.” (109)

“There was a dazzle of danger in his gaze, the hypnotic promise of power. It was exhilarating. Narcotic. And terrifying. Fuhrer Kontakt, it was called with Hitler - an intense magnetism that could make people believe, in that moment, they were the only one in the room, the center of the universe. It made them willing to follow him anywhere.” (258)

“It could never happen here -  and it not only could have, but almost did. And there’s every reason to believe it could happen again in the future.” (302)

Hope for the future is what I continue to hold onto. Hope.

“Somewhere in the Night”

Thanksgiving just wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without a little drama. Or in this case a murder.

I always throw on my mink when I step out onto the balcony to watch the tree lighting ceremony…don’t you?

Lavish light displays. Cocktails. Money. Greed. Family. Love. A mystery to solve. What more could you ask for when saddled with a house full of family?

“Back in Black”

FOUR MURDERS in ONE. Oh, Ellison! 

What is it about the next book in a series? Well loved characters up to the same shenanigans? New characters to disdain? Mother and her helmet hair? 

How is it that some books will have me falling asleep after a page or two? BUT, when I read the next Country Club Murder, I can stay up all night?

It’s like catching up with an old friend. Instant. Happiness. Fulfilled. Ahhh…

“The Elephant’s Journey”

• Novels translated into English always seem to be lacking something; in this case punctuation and paragraphing.
• The storyline meandered, slowed, and then died. Literally.
• When you read, your own biases cloud the story.
• When you read, current events shadow how you interpret the story.
• Monied, powerful people playing with people’s lives for their own amusement.

I’m not sure any of my feelings about this book are not without a great deal of prejudice. Try as I might to find a justification for the characters actions, and a happy ending, I could not. Disappointment. Confusion. Lack of empathy. Not the ending I wanted.

More thoughts on books and stuff at mytossiecup.blogspot.com