Kurt Vonnegut

I wasn't one of the lucky people in school to get to read "Slaughterhouse Five" but I read it on my own because it was recommended on a reading list I had. If anyone isn't familiar with the book, they should, especially in light of whats going on in the world today. I learned something new today already. I didn't know that Vonnegut was a P.O.W. in WWII. I didn't even know he fought during WWII. I also didn't know that he experienced the bombing of Dresden. Now the book makes even more sense to me. I really liked the book to begin with but now that I know he was in Dresden when it was bombed, I now know where he got his material from. This man has never been afraid to tell it like it is and I admire him for it. He said this of the war in Iraq: the troops are "being treated, as I never was, like toys a rich kid got for Christmas." How great of an analogy is that?

This man has been through a lot in his life and I think he is probably one of the most creative people in this country. I love that he doesn't care about what people say or think about him and continues to speak his mind. I wish I could do that a little more. And he's not entirely rude about it. I mean he says things that can be considered insensitive but really I think he's just trying to make people think. Sure, some may say that he's a bitter old man but I don't think so. I can only hope that in the future, there are more people like him writing and speaking to whomever will listen.

"What do you want to talk about? Politics? Our president is a complete twit." Kurt Vonnegut