Weekend reads

I love posts that shake up my perception of the world or at very least point out a fresh way of seeing things. Since I've returned to these two pieces several times over this last week, here they are. Digby, as always, says it best about America's original sin. And Luis rightly notes that gender divisions aren't the only divisions in town.

Coincidentally, I had a very long discussion with a momfriend from South America. She's long been extremely upset about the racial, language, and socioeconomic walls she experiences daily. In her year here, she's stunned by how she has been treated by some, especially since she has a post-graduate degree and is middleclass. While the most common occurence is that other parents assume that she is the nanny, not the mother of her children, the hardest thing is feeling invisible, especially at her children's school. It's not for a lack of trying because she's most outgoing and friendly but her social overtures have not been reciprocated. While I think that it's human to feel comfortable among others who share similarities, it's too easy to forget to reach outside our comfort zone and include others we think are different in some way.

Changing the subject completely, here's one of the sweetest love stories I've read in awhile. I relate because, truth be known, that's me right there, though I was more a bookworm. I still am, and I'll always will be.