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5. "Sisters In Law"
This book covers the careers of Sandra Day O'Connor & Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the 1st and 2nd women on the supreme court, respectively. I lived through the time covered by this book, but through much of it I was less than totally aware of what was going on with the Supreme Court. I found some of the book quite enlightening. I was not happy to read all the ways in which things happened due to "friend of a friend" type contacts. The differentiator was less about 'liberal or conservative' and more 'went to the right school and knew someone who knew the right person.' I assumed there was some level of that, but the breadth and extent is still disappointing. Today I always assume politics is heavy in the court, but I didn't realize the sort of backhanded maneuvering was taking place in the '70s. I'm sure it's even worse now, which makes it hard for someone a cynical as I am to think about. I don't think it is the most corrupt institution in US government, but that bar is very low indeed.
I have always felt like my life will probably be summed up to "everything he ever did in total amounted to fuck all." That's the way life is for most of us. We really aren't going to change the world. We're going to muddle through, get by okay if we're lucky, and hopefully treat our fellow human beings decently. But for prominent people to have their entire life's work basically undone in a short time, that's got to bite. Well, it would bite if they were alive to see it.
I was startling to be reminded just how awful the gender discrimination and straightjackets were back in the early '70's. I mean today we can see a lot of problems and backsliding, but I'd forgotten just how bad it was before. I like to hope that there will be an equal amount of change in another 50 years and not continued regression.
6. Janny Scott "A Singular Woman: The Untold Story of Barack Obama's Mother"
This book was an interesting biography. The first few chapters covered more grandparents, great aunts and uncles than I could follow, but once we got down to the birth family and life of Stanley Ann Dunham it got more interesting. The biographer drew together a bunch of incidents and facts which suggested ideas but didn't draw positive conclusions. I like that. It was interesting as a biography regardless of the fact that one of her children ended up becoming president of the US. That comes in, but thankfully isn't the focus. I think the book is a good example of how most of us more or less muddle through and if we're lucky we find out what makes us happy, or content, or perhaps provides for us before we die. If we're unlucky we find none of the aforementioned. Very few find all of the aforementioned. I think Dunham understood at some point she was trading security for what made her happy, what was her passion. That might have cost her years in lifespan, but she (and we) can never know. She just might have traded her happy years for stable unhappy years and ended with the same outcome.
This book covers the careers of Sandra Day O'Connor & Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the 1st and 2nd women on the supreme court, respectively. I lived through the time covered by this book, but through much of it I was less than totally aware of what was going on with the Supreme Court. I found some of the book quite enlightening. I was not happy to read all the ways in which things happened due to "friend of a friend" type contacts. The differentiator was less about 'liberal or conservative' and more 'went to the right school and knew someone who knew the right person.' I assumed there was some level of that, but the breadth and extent is still disappointing. Today I always assume politics is heavy in the court, but I didn't realize the sort of backhanded maneuvering was taking place in the '70s. I'm sure it's even worse now, which makes it hard for someone a cynical as I am to think about. I don't think it is the most corrupt institution in US government, but that bar is very low indeed.
I have always felt like my life will probably be summed up to "everything he ever did in total amounted to fuck all." That's the way life is for most of us. We really aren't going to change the world. We're going to muddle through, get by okay if we're lucky, and hopefully treat our fellow human beings decently. But for prominent people to have their entire life's work basically undone in a short time, that's got to bite. Well, it would bite if they were alive to see it.
I was startling to be reminded just how awful the gender discrimination and straightjackets were back in the early '70's. I mean today we can see a lot of problems and backsliding, but I'd forgotten just how bad it was before. I like to hope that there will be an equal amount of change in another 50 years and not continued regression.
6. Janny Scott "A Singular Woman: The Untold Story of Barack Obama's Mother"
This book was an interesting biography. The first few chapters covered more grandparents, great aunts and uncles than I could follow, but once we got down to the birth family and life of Stanley Ann Dunham it got more interesting. The biographer drew together a bunch of incidents and facts which suggested ideas but didn't draw positive conclusions. I like that. It was interesting as a biography regardless of the fact that one of her children ended up becoming president of the US. That comes in, but thankfully isn't the focus. I think the book is a good example of how most of us more or less muddle through and if we're lucky we find out what makes us happy, or content, or perhaps provides for us before we die. If we're unlucky we find none of the aforementioned. Very few find all of the aforementioned. I think Dunham understood at some point she was trading security for what made her happy, what was her passion. That might have cost her years in lifespan, but she (and we) can never know. She just might have traded her happy years for stable unhappy years and ended with the same outcome.
