I found the following short bio in the book “Strength is What Remains” by Tracy Kidder. The book is about a Burundian refugee’s horrific experiences in his homeland and in New York. While the story of Deo is very inspirational, it is the life of one of side characters that really haunts me:
While I was on my Mormon mission in the Franco-Belgian area in the 1960s, I found somebody’s list of the 100 most important novels of western civilization. On the list were two novels by the french writer Albert Camus: The Stranger (or The Outsider) and the Plague. I purchased a copy of The Stranger and in short order read it. I found it very compelling, perhaps in the same way other young people find J. D. Salinger’s “Catcher in the Rye” haunting.
The book “The Moral Underground” was recently given a short review in Time Magazine (Dec. 14, p. 23). In her book, Lisa Dodson (BC sociology prof.) paints a rather dismal image of corporate America, who she feels is building wealth by abusing low-income workers. “Helping the less fortunate in this context becomes as a form of civil and corporate disobedience.” Time lists three of her examples: (1) supervisors who alter time cards so that employees can take better care for their families; (2) the school nurse who keeps cots in her office so those with bad home situations can get a few hours of sleep; and (3) the doctor who thumbs his nose at insurance regulations in order to provide medicine for an entire household. ”All see their behavior as necessary and moral acts of conscience.”
Lately I’ve become obsessed with sub-Saharan eastern Africa. It is a place that has been tormented by HIV/AIDs, war, over-population, corrupt and inept governments, and famine. Just as you think things are calming down in the region, another disaster breaks out. The current troubled area is eastern Congo. Northern Uganda seems to be settling down, but Darfur is still a mess. Kenya, where we thought there was hope, recently had a troubled election.
There is great philosophy, writing, and word play in the Bible. I’m personally fond of the Old Testiment Book of Ecclesiastes, thought to have been written around 200 BC. It is a wonderful read because of the author’s exceptional command of language and beautiful King James translation. The author is one of the most original thinkers in the Bible.