This week's reading...... as some of you may have guessed, I don't watch much TV at all, but I try to read a couple of books a week.... these 2 books are a historical recollections that occur during World War II.... The "Nightingale" deals with the French resistance in Paris and "Beneath a Scarlet Sky" deals with the same subject in Milan, Italy...... one through the eyes of a young women, and the other with a young man........ It is interesting to note what these people suffered and sacrificed through this period of Fascist rule in Europe....... what our country is dealing with today is nothing in comparison to what this generation endured, yet I find many parallels to events unfolding in our country and the world. It gives me a better understanding how citizens can be coerced and brainwashed to do unimaginable things for their leaders. Those who know the history of the War, have heard of the Vichy-French government turning on its own people, as well the Mussolini fascist army that failed in North Africa, only to be brought back to Italy to be replaced by the Nazi's....... The point is that the people in these countries believed their governments and were tricked into submission by fear and repression of the free press........ yet through the horror, there were some who resisted and sought to put themselves above the politics and false information to fight for restoration and a return to normality....... a righteous path for those with the courage to see that they were in this together and that they would not survive without the bond of compassion and action. "Logic clearly dictates that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.” ...... Yes I remember that quite clearly from the '60's......... but how far have we fallen from those aspirational goals???? and can we as a nation ever meet today's challenges as those of the "Greatest Generation" did in their time ??? We owe a lot to them for the opportunities we had growing up in the post war era. Change begins within and it may take one person at a time to realize we all live on this planet together...... or not at all.... rs 05.17.2020