A Recent Reread

I read Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale many years ago. I was too young and naive then to understand how a society could end up how it did in this novel. I am older now, not sure I can say wiser but definitely older now.

When I first read this book I was a young wife. I was having children and getting used to being a Navy wife. Politics and the structure of society was beyond what I cared about. My eyes are more opened now. The, to use two of his favorite words, disgusting disaster of the current presidency has changed my view of the country I call home. The backdrop of inequality in the areas of education, health, housing and economics, and the rise of the born again Christian right and their desire to deny a woman and her doctor the right to make choices are in stark contrast to the county that I thought I raised in. That county took on great ideas like going to the moon, the Voting Rights Act and Medicare and made things happen. I didn't think we were perfect but I felt a sense of always striving to become the best of ourselves. Today we add in the lack of federal support for its citizens during the current pandemic on top of all the other troubles and it makes it hard for me to hope for a better day at all.

Like The Handmaid's Tale without a happily ever after ending I find myself unsure anymore that there are happy endings. I could give you a laundry list of worries and complaints but I won't. I will spend today recentering myself with the good news that I am safe and secure, my family is healthy and well so far and I can use the power of my vote to try and be a part of a better America.

  The ad above is an affiliate link to a book I recently read on my Kindle. I get a small commission if you click and make a purchase on Amazon.

Back with more again soon. Take care and stay cozy!