Mirth, Wind, and Ire

Mirth, Wind, and Ire is a book of essays on the contemporary political and social scene--with a bit of humor thrown in. The essays are "op-ed" columns. Born from a review of some 800 columns written over nearly two decades that showed something startling: some problems from ten or twenty years ago still haunt us, unsolved today.

Each essay is about a specific incident or issue. The book is organized to lead the reader to the conclusions. That process begins with an introduction that opens the door to the book and ends with a conclusion that offers the reader a "how to" for either a good think, or a "how to" for getting community-involved with implementing fixes.

Section One, "You and Me--Perhaps to See" contains 16 essays. Each is from the writer's observation of the world around him. There is an encounter by a neighborhood mother with a local street gang--that she wins hands down. There are musings on morality using a father who put his talented son to cheat in a baseball league. The problem is the team finishes in first place, but the boy is exposed. Money in pro ball is explored as an evil for players and young fans alike. Also to be found are thoughts on the odd, seemingly economically linked post 9/11 expressions of patriotism.

Section Two, "You and We...." has 15 essays that speak to the world's most complicated and at times dangerous subject--religion. Using PT Barnum's adage that "There's a sucker born every minute and two to take'm in," the section explores the deceptions used by the Messianic Jewish/Jews for Jesus movement to convert Jews. The reader is urged to think about the meaning of the Southern Baptist Convention's ban on ordination of women for the pulpit. The "December Dilemma," "religion in the public square" and the societal battles it causes, and the unique relationship of Israel to Christians in the Holy Land to round out this section of conflicts.

Section Three, "Beyond Here--But Still Near" takes the the reader overseas. "Of Ships and Tacks and Sealing Wax" explores the challenge of keeping the ship of state afloat when the US Mail is used to kill people. The cultural paranoia so famously linked to the Russian psyche is at the heart of the tragedy when the Russian government lets hundreds of sailors suffocate at the bottom of the sea rather than permit US divers to enter the stricken sub and save her crew.

Section Four is "You and Me--Perhaps We." It can be captured in the woeful plea of Rodney King in Los Angeles as he wailed, "Why can't we all just get along?" It is a tour through multiple intergroup relations issues from the condition of the Urban "Indian" (Native American) to the positives that women bring to the workplace.

Section Five deals with the 2015-16 obsession, politics. In "Power, Pabulum, and Purchase of Politics" the writer shares a letter to President George W. Bush, explores how Palm Beach County golf clubs were allowed to exceed their water allotments by one billion gallons a year, and delves into the "election from hell--" not Clinton v. Trump, but Bush v. Gore with its chads hanging out for all to see.

Mirth, Wind, and Ire has many things to commend it. It is a quick read, but it is mentally challenging. It uses real life issues and actions to highlight the intractability of inertia in the attempt to create change. It points out that time passes, but with the passage of time remain the same old problems. It is a book that can be used by adult students of the world condition. It is can also be used in high school and college as a case history study companion to more traditional looks at American politics and culture.

In sum, Mirth, Wind, and Ire is "a good read."