Dear Reader
It has been such a different Pride month, and yet we’ve all found not just opportunities to celebrate our own journey—our own victories and defeats—but also those of our siblings who share marginalized status in this great nation we call home. The unity, the activism, the sacrifice is breathtaking to watch. And inspiring on a scale that I can’t remember feeling in my lifetime. I’m humbled by it, even as I watch so much of the country slip deeper into the pandemic’s grip. Scary times, boys and girls.
Look, I’m neither Native American nor Black, so call me insensitive, but I think there’s more important work to do than going after Teddy Roosevelt’s statue in front of Natural History. I wrote about Confederate monuments in a post three years ago. It was inspired by the controversy over the monumental celebration of Confederate leaders at Stone Mountain, Georgia. It isn’t quite Mount Rushmore, but it aspires to be. And it’s still there, and it’s still hot news today.
I used the example of Gen. Robert E. Lee. He was a brilliant West Point grad, a masterful warrior, and he cut a very handsome figure indeed on horseback. But no matter how honorable his motives, when push came to shove, he took up arms against the United States of America. That’s treason. Simple. Let’s just apply the treason test. And then get those Confederate monuments to a museum, where they can serve an educational purpose in the future. Like Holocaust museums. Stone Mountain is a museum, as far as I’m concerned, so I wouldn’t sandblast it. But that’s really none of my business.
On a happier note, IT’S THEIR WAY, Volume 2 of the Tolerance Trilogy, is in print! I’ll release the paperback and the hardcover in the next two weeks. My next novel, SUCH A GOOD MAN, Volume 3 of the Tolerance Trilogy, is nearing the half-way point. Always exciting. I’ll keep you posted. I’m confident it will be ready for December 1 release. We’re only just dipping our toes into summer, and still I’m planning for deep autumn. It’s comforting to know that the seasons will change and life will go on, no matter what.
Thanks for joining me!
Bruce
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