Day #39 - Roots

I just started listening to "Roots" book on CD. At first it seemed like it was going to be a little boring, a real snooze fest, but now that I am a few hours in I begin to see how it is already imprinting on me. The cover says it is a story about an American family, but the story starts in Africa. I am just waiting to see how they get taken from their home and way of life, which I have come to admire so much, to become a slave family in America. I am dreading finding out who will not make the trip, which of the main character's brothers or friends will be killed in the process and if his parents will be taken or if they will be left behind.

The way love is expressed in the culture is very interesting. It is not physical or verbal, but subtle and super touching. The way children are raised is so strict. The bonds are strong, communication so honest, respect - important above all else. It has been interesting to watch the characters develop and to gain a fuller understanding of the culture, learning at the same time Kunta learns the way of his world. I wonder how the way Kunta was raised will affect the way he is a slave in America and how he will handle his experience.

I know how incredible America is, but I am also reminded that our way is not the only way or even the best way in some cases. I think again how easy my life is compared to so many others and how much I have that I can really do without; how much I want that I don't necessarily need. I flinch inside when I think about the slave traders and how shameful it was to rip people from their lives, how impossibly horrifying for the people who were taken and how incredibly unbelievable that people felt ok about it at one time.

I'm not saying I wish I lived in Africa and experienced Kunta's way of life...no thank you. But I am reminded, once again, how much we can learn from other people's culture and how rich other peoples lives are because of how and where they were raised. Maybe this book will make me more interested in my own background...my own Roots, and I will take the time to study all the information gathered by my Aunts over the years.

I Am Grateful,
HB

Diva Quote: Kunta's Father, Omoro, holds his infant son up to the starry night sky and says: "Kunta Kinte, behold the only thing greater than yourself!"