November 9, 2016 I LOVE TRASH

Litter. When I'm out running, I see it everywhere. Bottles, cans, empty food containers--I even see used needles strewn on the ground. SCARY.  If I were walking, I would bring a garbage bag and pick it up, but I really need to fit my run in so I don't have time to stop--AND WHY SHOULD I HAVE TO??   What I can't understand is why people litter in the first place. It should be one of the first things a parent teaches a child. So what's the deal?? Is it lack of respect, ignorance, apathy or the ALL ABOUT ME ATTITUDE SO PREVALENT TODAY?? We only have one EARTH and if we don't take care of it who will??  Pick up after yourself--HELLO--we have these things called GARBAGE CANS--use them.Speaking of garbage, how about that Presidential election. WOW. I guess it wasn't rigged, huh?

 The events of the last 24 hours remind me of this great book I read last year by Philip Roth called The Plot Against America--because that is literally how I feel. Philip Roth is a wonderful writer of numerous books over his long career.  He has won several awards including a Pulitzer Prize for fiction and the Pen/Faulkner award just to name a few. He is definitely worth the effort. Anyways,  The Plot Against America is a dystopian novel  set in 1940 in the United States. In Roth's version of American history though, Charles Lindbergh--known Nazi sympathizer and Fascist--defeats Franklin Roosevelt in the Presidential election.   American Jews including Roth's own family--this part is sort of autobiographical-- live in fear as Lindbergh blames "Jews" for getting America involved in  World War II. Roth's family as well as his other Jewish neighbors  live in fear--paranoia--suspicion about what will happen to them as the Lindbergh administration  institutes anti-semitic policies.  Many move to Canada, some are relocated by the government, while others live in denial until it's too late. This is an important novel to read--a real eye opener that begs the question-- Are we one election away from a dictatorship or fascism?? Find out what ultimately happens in Roth's version of American history when you read this novel. It's about 350 pages or a 6 mile run that will have you seeing our world in a frightening way.