Books

It's Wednesday evening, near sunset. The Hunter Moon (October's full moon and this year's largest super moon) will be making its appearance shortly. The outside air temperature is just above 50 (10 for my non-US friends). The deck thermometer still reads 60 (15c) but I think the wall where it is mounted holds a little of the heat from the evening sun. I'm wearing my sweatpants, a t-shirt, jacket, and I'm even wearing socks!
My libation of choice is a simple tequila blanco, neat. I may or may not fire up a cigar when I'm finished typing.

Today I finished the audio book Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI.
Damn. That's some messed up shit.

Deep down I'd like to believe that humanity is basically good, that we are created in the image of God and have a longing to belong together and thrive together as a species. But after finishing the audio book Where Wolves Don't Die that mentioned some of the atrocities committed upon the Ojibwe peoples, and now this treatment of the Osage -- I just don't know.

The colonization of the West by our European ancestors was brutal. I know that this comfortable home and life of mine are fruits of that brutality, but it is difficult to take pride in how it was obtained. The treatment of the Native American Nations that were here and the peoples that we enslaved and exploited along the way is something all of humanity should be ashamed of.
Sadly, given the hatred and vitriol that I've seen and read about recently, I'm not certain that it would be any different if it were to have happened in our time.

Both were good books but I need something more uplifting, so I just finished the first book in an eleven book fantasy series called The Realm of False Gods. I'm on to book 2.

What are you reading?

John