Thoughts on Patriotism

I've read several books by British author Louis de Bernieres, the author of Corelli's Mandolin, recently. I have really enjoyed all of them. I just started The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts, which is the first novel in a trilogy, and I came across this quote about patriotism that spoke to me:

There are two types of patriotism, although sometimes the two are mingled in one breast. The first kind one might call nationalism; nationalists believe that all other countries are inferior in every respect and that one would do them a favor by dominating them. Other countries are always in the wrong, they are less free, less civilized, are less glorious in battle, are perfidious, prone to falling for insane and alien ideologies which no reasonable person could believe, are irreligious and abnormal. Such patriots are the most common variety, and their patriotism is the most contemptible thing on earth.

The second type of patriot is best described by returning to the example of General Fuerte. General Fuerte did not believe in "my country, right or wrong"; on the contrary, he loved his land despite the faults that he could so clearly see and that he labored to correct. It was his frequently stated opinion that anyone who supported his country when it was obviously in the wrong, or who failed to see its faults, was the worst kind of traitor. Whereas the first kind of patriot really glories in his own irrationality and not in his country, General Carlo María Fuerte loved his country as a son loves his mother or a brother his sister.

Don't Know Much About History

I just finished the book "Birds without Wings" by Louis De Bernieres. It was a wonderful historical novel set during the final decades of the Ottoman Empire and the birth of Turkey. My knowledge of the Ottoman Empire prior to reading this book was pretty close to none. I had no idea that it officially lasted until 1923. I wish I had known a lot more about it because the whole the assasanation of Archduke Franz Ferdinand being the thing that set off WWI, would've made a LOT more sense.

The Ottoman Empire

The older I get and the more world history I learn about, the more I realize how little is taught in history courses in the U.S. I recall going over the United States' involvement in both world wars in several different years (although I don't recall that we got into a lot more detail in the higher grades than we did in the lower grades). The other parts of both wars were pretty much ignored. I'm from Texas, so I remember a lot of my Texas history. I recall studying Mesopotamia, Egypt (FYI, Cleopatra was a Pharoah people, not a queen), and the Roman Empire, but not the history of China, Japan, the Sassanid Empire, Ottoman Empire, Byzantine Empire, or any part of Africa other than Egypt. Basically, the history of the majority of the people on this earth was never even mentioned in passing.




There's no real point to this post, other than that I find it appalling that there was so much left out of my education.

The Emperor Can't Kill Jack Bauer

A while back I mentioned that I was on an Indian/Pakistani novel kick. I still am. I’m also on a 24 kick. Marcus and I began watching season one about 6 weeks ago. We are now halfway through season 6. Jack Bauer rocks.

What do these two things have in common you ask? Well, very little except in my dreams. Lately my dreams are a mixture of the current novel I’m reading and the latest episode of 24. It’s really weird.

Most of the novels I read are contemporary, set in the 1970s or later, so in my dreams it kinda works with Jack Bauer there. The most recent books I’ve read were set in the late 1500s/early 1600s at the height of the Mughal Empire in India. (The Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan constructed the Taj Majal for his late wife, Empress Mumtaz Mahal)

This setting is a little weirder. Jack Bauer doesn’t make quite as much sense in the 17th century as he does in the 21st. Although, he can still kick anyone's bottom. Even the emperor's.

I've been rejected

A couple of days ago I found some books on amazon.com that I would like to read (I love their recommendations), so I went to the library's website to see if any of them were available. Hazzah! Two of them were actually in the library. I eagerly entered my username and password to put them on hold, but instead of the regular you can pick your books up on x date message I got the following: User ID Rejected! Kinda harsh.

It seems that we owed the library about $2.00 in fines and such. Fortunately, Marcus took care of that today and now I can get the books.

revisited

I’ve always been a voracious reader. My mom says it’s because she read to me all the time when I was a baby. I’m sure the fact that I was an only child until the age of 12 also contributed to my love of reading.

Several years ago I read an article that suggested you should re-read a favorite book every few years, especially if you have entered a new stage of life. I thought that was a really good idea. I wondered if I would feel differently about my favorite books when I revisited them.

One of my absolute favorite books is Pearl S. Buck’s The Good Earth. I first read it as a sophomore in high school completely by chance. We had a LONG list of books we could choose from to read and write a paper on during the summer break. I went to a used book store and went down the list, which was arranged by author. I got to Buck, read the description on the back of The Good Earth, and got it. I didn’t read it again until after college. There were many things that I noticed the second time that I missed the first time. The big one was how many times Buck said “That is what happens when the rich get too rich and the poor get too poor.” (Thank you liberal sociology education!) I have now read that book four times, and the part where Wang Lung takes Olan’s pearls from her still makes me furious.

I’ve read Toni Morrison’s Sula at least three times. I just love her writing style. That book is such a great story about a complicated friendship between two women.

I first read John Steinbeck’s East of Eden three years ago and absolutely loved it, so much so that I read it again earlier this year. I think that Cathy is one of the best written characters ever! She is pure evil.

Do y’all every read books more than once? Do you notice anything new when you do?