wow.

One of my favorite books (We Die Alone) ends up in one of my favorite NYT editorial columns (David Brooks).

ahhhh...The stars align.


http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/02/opinion/02brooks.html

Wow, that sounds like an incredible story.
Saw that earlier when I was perusing the times, but skipped reading it. Thanks for drawing it to my attention.
Will check out the book!
I wonder if that story could've occurred in the U.S? Then, maybe, but now? Do we have enough social unity for such an outpouring of a "social cocktail," as Brooks calls it? Hmmm.

dskoon wrote:Wow, that sounds like an incredible story.
Saw that earlier when I was perusing the times, but skipped reading it. Thanks for drawing it to my attention.
Will check out the book!
I wonder if that story could've occurred in the U.S? Then, maybe, but now? Do we have enough social unity for such an outpouring of a "social cocktail," as Brooks calls it? Hmmm.

Wow, that is an incredible story!

I think a story like this could happen anywhere that people are confronted by something as starkly evil as Nazi ideology. The sad thing is that the stories of betrayel and weakness will likely be more numerous...

Yeah, I guess what I was getting at, w/out making this thread and the story too political, is, just given our social climate, ie. a pretty divided nation, politically and culturally, could we come together in such circumstances? Maybe if we were fighting Nazis within and around our shores, perhaps that would give rise to such social unity. Dunno. We had it once, during WWII, but, not sure it's been around since. . .

that's amazing. guess I have my summer planned out for me now!

Today I helped a woman in the grocery store find the coffee ice cream. And I don't even know her.

MoapaPk wrote:Today I helped a woman in the grocery store find the coffee ice cream. And I don't even know her.

You should be on that commercial, wherein one good deed leads someone to do another!

dskoon wrote:

MoapaPk wrote:Today I helped a woman in the grocery store find the coffee ice cream. And I don't even know her.

You should be on that commercial, wherein one good deed leads someone to do another!

She then showed a wino where to find the booze. I was so proud.

I would have given up and died.

Chewbacca wrote:These days there's an annual march along the same route as the escape - although one doesn't get thrown into the sea mid-winter with no shoes and get shot at by nazis.

http://karlsoy.com/baalsrud/index_e.htm

There are a lot of tough kids these days who could do the same stuff. But in lack of a war they win gold medals instead.

Not thinking of some skiier named Petter are you

dskoon wrote:Yeah, I guess what I was getting at, w/out making this thread and the story too political, is, just given our social climate, ie. a pretty divided nation, politically and culturally, could we come together in such circumstances? Maybe if we were fighting Nazis within and around our shores, perhaps that would give rise to such social unity. Dunno. We had it once, during WWII, but, not sure it's been around since. . .

I believe that the American people would be capable of pulling together, but it would take some pretty dire circumstances to make it happen. I have serious doubts as to whether the leadership of either major political party over the past couple decades would be up to it. If the kind of leadership that we've had recently was around in 1944, they would have vowed to get half our tanks past the hedgerows in France by the end of 1947! I just don't see the necessary unity, sense of purpose, or can-do attitude.

MoapaPk wrote:

dskoon wrote:

MoapaPk wrote:Today I helped a woman in the grocery store find the coffee ice cream. And I don't even know her.

You should be on that commercial, wherein one good deed leads someone to do another!

She then showed a wino where to find the booze. I was so proud.

Give a wino a bottle and he'll drink for a day.
Show a wino where the bottles are he'll drink for a lifetime.

By the way that was an amazing story and one I hadn't heard before. Thanks for letting me know about it.

CheesySciFi wrote:

dskoon wrote:Yeah, I guess what I was getting at, w/out making this thread and the story too political, is, just given our social climate, ie. a pretty divided nation, politically and culturally, could we come together in such circumstances? Maybe if we were fighting Nazis within and around our shores, perhaps that would give rise to such social unity. Dunno. We had it once, during WWII, but, not sure it's been around since. . .

I believe that the American people would be capable of pulling together, but it would take some pretty dire circumstances to make it happen. I have serious doubts as to whether the leadership of either major political party over the past couple decades would be up to it. If the kind of leadership that we've had recently was around in 1944, they would have vowed to get half our tanks past the hedgerows in France by the end of 1947! I just don't see the necessary unity, sense of purpose, or can-do attitude.

Yep, that was what I was gettin' at. Dire circumstances, maybe, but, there seems to much animosity between the polarized sections of our country to come together.

I'm gonna get that book, by the way. Thanks for the recommendation.

Snowslogger wrote:

Chewbacca wrote:These days there's an annual march along the same route as the escape - although one doesn't get thrown into the sea mid-winter with no shoes and get shot at by nazis.

http://karlsoy.com/baalsrud/index_e.htm

There are a lot of tough kids these days who could do the same stuff. But in lack of a war they win gold medals instead.

Not thinking of some skiier named Petter are you

Or bronze medals. Petra Majdic (spelling?).