Book Review: Soul of a Citizen

Soul of a Citizen: Living With Conviction in a Cynical Time 
by Paul Rogat Loeb
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Soul of a Citizen is a must-read for every intelligent person on the planet. I found my copy in a charity book pile and picked it up because of the title. Once I started reading, I couldn't put it down. It is more relevant and quotable today than it was when it was published in 1999. No kidding--you'll believe Loeb wrote this masterpiece just yesterday so prescient is his vision. It's that timely. Every home should have this book on their shelf for quick and easy reference.

Loeb inspires and motivates us to get off our backsides in Soul of a Citizen and get out into the world and fight for what we believe in. He deftly illustrates his points with examples of everyday people taking action who never believed they could do such a thing. These aren't "professional activists" or superheroes. These are folks who never thought they could make a difference in their community, their state, or the world at large, but who, nevertheless, found the courage to stand up and speak out for what they believed in and ended up making a difference for the better. Sure, times can be rough and not every effort will be met with immediate success, but when we sit back and do nothing we effectively kill off a piece of our soul Loeb warns. And the world is diminished that much more.

So, ignore the "insouciant smirks" or the "snark" (my term) that our society dishes out via the media whenever it tries to convince us that anything one person (or a group united for a good cause) attempts can't possibly make the world better. This snark, smirk or institutionalized cynicism has been perpetuated by the billionaires and millionaires for the past 40 years to keep us in our place. We all have been living under its soul-destroying cloud for so long that we've internalized it and come to believe its falsehoods. Worse yet, these oligarchs enjoy our "learned helplessness"--or should it be called "learned hopelessness"? The masses are lost in the consumer-driven culture and given up, filling their lives with empty bread (Starbucks?) and circuses (smartphones). Ordinary people discouraged and despairing won't take action to fight the wrongs made by greedy corporations and bought-and paid-for-politicians. No, we'll just sit and stare at our computing devices and throw in the towel and not fight back. The billionaires will just stuff more money in their offshore bank accounts as they send our jobs to China and accept their corporate welfare checks from the government...

Sound familiar? Want it to stop? Want to make the world a better place for all of God's creation and not just the 1%? Then get off your backside and find Soul of a Citizen in your local library, bookstore or online. Get it and read it. Today. Because tomorrow is the beginning of a whole new world that we can all be proud of because we worked together to make it happen.

#FeeltheBern



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Writers--share your thoughts at The Bernie Blog

I've taken on yet another position--I'm now the editor at The Bernie Blog. Check it out here:

http://bernie2016.blogspot.com

We now have a "How to Submit" page. Please read it and consider sending us a piece. Here's the submissions link:
http://bernie2016.blogspot.com/p/how-to-submit-to-bernie-blog-and-other.html

Thank you. We're looking forward to hearing from you.

To all the Canadians--I hope you had a good Canada Day yesterday. To all the Americans--have a great Fourth of July holiday weekend! To everyone--be safe and enjoy your summer (or winter)!

And I ain't goin' to promo no more! Hallelujah!

I've pretty much had enough. I've had enough of this idea that somehow writers are suppose to be their own P.R. company on top of everything else. That's why as of today, I'm giving up... Giving up being a "promotion whore" because, frankly, I suck at it and it's no fun.

You will still see me around at the various social media sites, as this is the only way I seem to communicate with friends and family these days, but I will not be promoting my writing. Uh-uh, not at all. I will strictly be myself (whomever she may be). Anything I say or do will be coming out of the mouth of Cindy A. Matthews and not my writing personas (including the one with that very same name).

This should please my publishers to no end, as everyone is saying we authors should be "pleasant, kind, entertaining and, above all else, NONCONTROVERSIAL in our bloggings and twitterings." Okay, now that I'm myself (and not a writing persona) I can freely express how I feel: 

I'm fed up with nonexistent sales and the millions of free ebooks giveways for the Kindle lately. Since I am giving up the promotion business, I will longer be in the vicinity of all these other authors' promotions, and, hence, my blood pressure will drop. I will be blissfully unaware of how lousy I'm doing promo-wise, and I will rejoice in my ignorance of all things of a promotional nature.

If you have had similar ideas of going "no-promo" or are a reader who is tired of endless authors sending out endless tweets, emails, Facebook postings, blogs, press releases, etc., touting their next free ebook giveaway for the Kindle (the majority which seem to come from the "indies" or self-published and not the professionally published), feel free to vent in my comment box below.

Now, what will I be able to do with all this "free time" I'll have on my hands? Should I actually... don't say it... WRITE?

Support Judy Mays! Support Your Local Authors!

I know there's a lot of talk online about this story, and I don't want to give those who have maligned Ms. May any more press, so here's a link to my publisher's blog that gives a few more pertinent details:

http://extasybooks.net/essenceofextasy/

I hope most readers realize why writers often use pen names in the first place. No one wants to suffer this kind of grief over his/her art. For some reason, readers will buy (hopefully not pirate) and read our erotic-romances, but if they find out we're teachers in our day jobs... All of sudden we're suspect human beings.

I'd be more afraid of my kid's English teacher writing "true crime" or murder mysteries. Do you think these types of writers go around killing folks to gain "experience" to write their stories? If you find that idea ridiculous, then why should romance authors be accused of being "dangerous perverts"? Aren't we exercising our imaginations like mystery writers do? ;)

Please support Ms. May and all your favorite and local authors. Stand up for our "write" (right) to create stories the way we see fit. Stand up for the First Amendment's freedom of speech and expression. Together we can make the world a better place.