Mein Kampf

Over the years I have read a variety of books. Some novels, fiction, humor, autobiography, etc... One I found to be very interesting was "The Masked Rider". It was written by Rush's drummer, an avid cyclist, as an account of his bicycle tour of West Africa.

I started reading a number of others and somehow set them aside. I plan to return to them at some point in time. I am just not motivated right now. Don Quixote, The Reagan Diaries, a few others I can't recall right now and Mein Kampf.

What I read of Mein Kampf was pretty dull really. I was bored by it but would like to finish it. For those unfamiliar, Mein Kampf was written by Adolph Hitler long before he became the Fuhrer. Yes I did shave my head once or twice in the past but NO, I am not a Skinhead. I simply think it might be interesting to read about what makes a person like that tick.

I suppose it is true, though, that most who read that book are of the racist sort. There are likely a few reasons for this. Most people like to validate their beliefs by associating themselves with people of similar beliefs. They also may be looking for added justifications for their hatred.

Most people will not read a book like this. Many are afraid of it. They fear they will be affected by it or be labeled by those who see them reading it. But should you be worried about what you read? Of course it depends greatly on who the reader happens to be.

Since Hitler's book preaches hate, it would be unwise to set a child down with it to read without parental guidance. Children usually do not have the critical thinking skills necessary to read something like that without effect. Adults should be able to read it without ill effect, or am I giving people too much credit?

I don't care if people give me dirty looks for what I read. They do it anyway, might as well have a reason. I learned a long time ago that people will believe what they want to believe. My choices in literature can have little effect on that. If a stranger were to look at my bookshelves and try to pin down my character they would probably be pretty far off. Some of it is for the purpose of learning but much of it is purely for escape.

I have also, at times, thought it might be interesting to read a copy of a satanic bible. Perhaps it is my philosophic bent that is curious of this point of view. I doubt I would have the patience for reading a text of that sort. Since I have my own belief system pretty well set in I doubt it would hold my interest. The whole concept of worshiping evil seems so fundamentally flawed from the very start.

At any rate there are about 10 or so books sitting around here that I have begun and not finished. It has been a few years for some of them. Maybe I should pick one of them up and force myself to finish it.

Maybe, but I have a few more important things I need to do this year. Spending a lot of time reading would probably just get in the way. I do too much sitting around as it is. I might never finish these books.

So should I decide to shave my head again, and you see me out and about, don't be alarmed. I'm not joining any hate groups. It is simply a change of pace. When I did shave my head summer felt much cooler...

ME