Book Review..............

 

I'm sure you've all read this or seen the movie already but if you haven't you should.  I'm not sure what it is about Southern writers but they seem to have a corner on the market for great story telling!  Or is it just because I'm not from the South so it's "different" and interesting from a Midwestern perspective?   I almost didn't want to read it because after Black History Month and Martin Luther King Day...I was getting a little "tired".  Maybe because I don't happen to carry any guilt over black history like people who's relatives owned slaves?  It was horrible and it amazes me what was taking place in the South when I was a little girl and even in high school that I was barely aware of.  But I hate the hollocaust and Darfor and Syria and many things that have gone on in history and are STILL going on in some areas.   As a woman, I am still waiting for equal pay, a worthy female president, stopping female genital mutilation in Africa, and putting an end to human abuse of all kinds.  It seems worldwide that no matter what happens it is always the women and children who suffer the most.   I am not one to dwell on the past but to understand it in order to create a better future.  So, at my age I just can't seem to handle dwelling on the horrific....BUT that said,  Kathryn Stockett told a story from every single perspective out there.  She told about all of us in some way or another "profiling" each other, every day, based on how we were raised and where and brainwashed by our own country, religion, and/or family.  Does justice and fairness have to be taught or can it grow from within with just a little bit of nurturing?  I think we all need to take a "world oath" when we become of age and be accountable that we will "do no harm" but then you have to define harm and pretty soon there are differences of opinion over what "harm" is.  Will we ever get it "right"...I certainly don't have all the answers but Kathryn Stockett showed all of us, black and white alike, that there is hope for each one of us if we only open our minds and our hearts and be courageous enough to follow through with action and kindness.  As Maya Angelou said "When you know better, you do better".  I would add that when you know better, you SHOULD do better!