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How has reading affected your personal views or changed you?
Posted on 6/11/21 at 7:19 am
Posted on 6/11/21 at 7:19 am
For me personally. It has absolutely changed my views on war. I've never been what I would call a war monger, but I used to believe that there was such a thing as a noble war where one side could be a white night in shining armor and hold a moral high ground.
Now I believe that war is an absolute last option that brings out the worst in all involved. Books like The Things They Carried, All Quiet on the Western Front, A Bridge Too Far, and Slaughterhouse-5 have convinced me that war has too much human suffering to be noble.
It is incredible to read the accounts of Medal of Honor recipients and the courage and bravery they show, but it is heartbreaking to read how many of those medals were recieved posthumously and I cant help but wonder how much good it would have done the world to have men like that alive and around in their communities.
Now I believe that war is an absolute last option that brings out the worst in all involved. Books like The Things They Carried, All Quiet on the Western Front, A Bridge Too Far, and Slaughterhouse-5 have convinced me that war has too much human suffering to be noble.
It is incredible to read the accounts of Medal of Honor recipients and the courage and bravery they show, but it is heartbreaking to read how many of those medals were recieved posthumously and I cant help but wonder how much good it would have done the world to have men like that alive and around in their communities.
3
Posted on 6/11/21 at 8:21 am to Boss13
1984 and Brave New World probably had bigger impacts on me than just about any other books. My view of government is rooted in these books.
Grapes of Wrath and Lord of the Flies on human nature.
Grapes of Wrath and Lord of the Flies on human nature.
Posted on 6/11/21 at 8:30 am to Grievous Angel
quote:
1984 and Brave New World probably had bigger impacts on me than just about any other books. My view of government is rooted in these books.
Grapes of Wrath and Lord of the Flies on human nature
Grapes of Wrath is my next book. I'm currently reading Travels With Charlie in Search of America, my first John Steinbeck. I never thought I would like him but I'm getting old and my tastes have change considerably. His writing style draws you in like a sunny day. I'm looking forward to his other books.
1984 was confirmation bias for me as I was raised suspicious of authority
This post was edited on 6/11/21 at 8:32 am
Posted on 6/11/21 at 10:46 am to Boss13
Good question. It does change us - empathy, mainly. You realize how big the world is, how connected it is with the commonality of human experience. People go through a lot, our trials are both universal and unique.
I'm mostly with you on war being a last resort. It brings out the worst in us, but does it also bring out the best? There are plenty of episodes in history to debate the question of misery, bravery and terrible deeds leading to a greater good. "Where do we get such men?"
"He promised that if he ever ran into anybody, especially old men, who thought death in battle glorious, he would straighten them out; it was the least he could do." - General Lucian Truscott apologizing to the war dead at the Nettuno, Italy military cemetery. Witnessed by Bill Mauldin, from The Day of Battle by Rick Atkinson.
I'm mostly with you on war being a last resort. It brings out the worst in us, but does it also bring out the best? There are plenty of episodes in history to debate the question of misery, bravery and terrible deeds leading to a greater good. "Where do we get such men?"
"He promised that if he ever ran into anybody, especially old men, who thought death in battle glorious, he would straighten them out; it was the least he could do." - General Lucian Truscott apologizing to the war dead at the Nettuno, Italy military cemetery. Witnessed by Bill Mauldin, from The Day of Battle by Rick Atkinson.
Posted on 6/13/21 at 6:36 pm to Htowntiger90
I went through High School without TV. You tend to do that when everything on the air is in Japanese in Tokyo. The only we watched was baseball on Wednesday nights. And yes ...the TV coverage and game ended at 10pm, no matter who was ahead of behind.
So, you read. You read everything. That fit my career nicely ..as I read every trade publication and report you could imagine. To this day I can't stand reading something on a computer screen ...I want to hold the paper and read it my hands.
In today's world ...the idiot on the screen is being told what to say ....It doesn't mean he/she is anywhere close to right or wrong.
So, you read. You read everything. That fit my career nicely ..as I read every trade publication and report you could imagine. To this day I can't stand reading something on a computer screen ...I want to hold the paper and read it my hands.
In today's world ...the idiot on the screen is being told what to say ....It doesn't mean he/she is anywhere close to right or wrong.
Posted on 6/15/21 at 11:15 am to Boss13
Of course. If reading hasn't changed you in some way, or shaped your personal views in some way, I'd argue you're not actually reading.
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