Do you believe in the power of love to reconcile what is opposite or different? I do. Not without reservations: Some positions are opposed too far to be overcome easily, for example a union between an unrepentant racist and a person who despises racism. And in some instances, where there’s no real compromise possible, love may not be enough to bridge the gap, like whether one wants to have children or not, a pet or not. But in many cases love may bring together people that hold opinions and beliefs that differ, and may make a relationship possible that both partners would have declined for rational reasons before they actually fell in love.
My own marriage is an example of the opposites-attract kind. My husband and I are respectively conservative and green, Catholic and Lutheran, of working-class and academia background. And our marriage works well. We still vote differently (sometimes arguing about details, but always respecting the other’s right to a different opinion), we take turns attending both our churches together, and when we visit with our families, one of us may sometimes roll his or her eyes at the other family’s idiosyncrasies, but always prepared for tolerance. (more…)
2010 seems to have been a good reading year for many of our readers and also for AAR staff. Some of the books we’ve loved have gotten lots of buzz, but there are always those buried treasures out there waiting to be found. Some of these books come from new authors or smaller presses, and a few are from bestselling authors who, for whatever reason, just didn’t get the buzz here on the site that staffers felt they deserved. So, here is our chance to point out the books from 2010 that we really think more people need to read.
