Status Updates From The Given Day

"Simply put, this country is sick of terror."
"But the explosion wasn't a terrorist act."
"The rage remains... People don't want truth, they want certainty. Or the illusion of it."

This book was published in 2008, and it chronicles events following World War I.

It reads like current events. It's uncanny.

We truly are doomed to repeat our own history in this country.

Perhaps I was wrong.

The juxtaposition of cops brutally crushing strikes, kicking laborers into unconsciousness... and then holding chummy union meetings over beers is just horrifying in its cognitive disconnectedness.

How can you fight for collective bargaining, when you're actively suppressing the rights of every other laborer and occupation?

Fuck. This is tough reading.

Welp, clearly I was wrong about this.

The cop-worship is still strong.

But the empathy regarding labor, unions, and the plight of the poor, specifically women and people of color, swells throughout the story.

It's high drama. But, it's also sharply political - and the conclusions it draws are perhaps even more leftist than intended.

I'm glad I gave this a chance - it's excellent.

"Have you ever noticed that when they need us, they talk about duty, but when we need them, they talk about budgets?"

Applied generally, I love the pro-labor, pro-union sentiments.

Pity it's about the police.