Some Summer Reading

For President Bush

To the Editor:

With summer newly arrived, it’s time to plan our seasonal reading lists. I realize President Bush is busy conducting two wars, planning for a third, fixing Social Security, discouraging stem cell research, caring for the environment in a fiscally sound way, and spreading democracy, so as a public service, I created a summer reading list for the President, comprising books that I believe will help him with his struggles.

The Godfather by Mario Puzo: There’s no denying, Don Corleone was a great leader, warrior, diplomat economist, strategic thinker. You know he would have captured Osama bin Laden by now. Moreover, he virtually invented family values: “A man who is not a father to his children can never be a real man.”

The New Testament — St James Edition (skip Revelations please): With all due respect to Jewish citizens, I think our government is too focused on Deuteronomy at the exclusion of all else. This is a good time to rediscover how kind, loving, peaceful, and forgiving Jesus was and expects us to be.

The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell. After learning about how similar the religions of the world are, it might give you pause before torturing the non-Christians.

The Illiad by Homer (not Simpson): There is no better study of how ego and anger can be self-defeating and wreck civilizations. And it has just the right hint of spice for a summer read if you know what I mean.

People of the Lie by M. Scott Peck. This follow-up to the popular The Road Less Traveled postulates that evil grows from the pathology of certain people who can’t acknowledge their human failings in a forthright manner. Rather, they twist the truth, indeed reality, so they can avoid the pain of self-analysis. This results in evil behavior, sometimes on a colossal scale. Sure it’s a little heavy for the beach but it’s short.

The Demon Haunted World by Carl Sagan: This is a great tool for distinguishing science from pseudo-science. By the time you’re done, you’ll understand the validity of the theory of evolution and the dangers of global warning.

Voodoo Science by Robert Park: It’s similar to Sagan’s book but focuses on fewer issues in greater detail. Good news for your oil industry buddies: Joseph Newman’s Energy Machine, which promises to generate unlimited amounts of energy, still doesn’t work and never will.

Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot and Other Observations by Al Fraken: It’s great fun to lampoon this hypocritical windbag and other right-wing luminaries from the mid-nineties. Hey, some of them may be friends of yours. You can give them a good ribbing at the club.

Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. I know you already read the Cliff Notes in high school, but it’s high time you revisited this American classic.

Happy Reading!

Martin Blanco

8 Pheasant Ridge Road, Newtown                               June 21, 2005