Want to know the top 10, or 3 best of, or must reads or must see’s? Here’s the place!  To note, many of these are simply opinions, both my own, as well as those of any contributors, but, while they may not be based on expert opinion or fact, they may provide some things to ponder, and even some useful information.  Enjoy! 🙂

 

*****

Books and writings every American should read and why: 

(These are just my opinion and based on what I’ve read and heard, and some are fictional stories I’ve read, but they’re worth checking out! I may add more from time to time, and, if you have any ideas, please let me know and I can add them to this list! Thanks!)

1. The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.

2. Any books and writings of the founding fathers.

• 1 and 2 are obviously the most important, as they tell why the United States were founded, the supreme law of the land, which describes how our government is to function and the outlining of the rights of the citizen and restrictions on the government. In addition, the writings and books produced by the founding fathers tells the reasoning behind their thoughts, words, and actions.

3. “Ain’t Nobody’s Business If You Do – The Absurdity of Consensual Crimes in Our Free Country”, by Peter McWilliams, 1996.

• Contains lot’s of great quotes and makes you think about how a lot of things are in the real world.

4. Harry Turtledove’s alternate history Civil War stories, starting with “How Few Remain” and ending with “In At The Death”.

• Harry Turtledove writes a lot of alternate history novels and series’, and one of his biggest is the Civil War series, in which the Confederates win, and the resulting history that follows through the end of World War Two. Yes, the history is far worse, particularly for African Americans, and yes, it is only speculation, but it did remind me that, no matter how bad we may think our current situation is, things could have been far worse. As I read the series, I often found myself aching for what the fictional Americans had to go through that we, thankfully, didn’t.

5. “Voyage from Yesteryear”, by James P. Hogan, 1982.

• Science fiction story. While the depiction of our country is not the uppermost point of the story, it does figure prominently, as does the state of the fictional world. In this story, the United States is the United States in name only. The government and people have become extremely paranoid and people have to watch what they say. In one part of the story, a young boy questions something that he believes to be unconstitutional, and is scolded for ‘believing in liberty and justice for all’. It’s scary, but it can happen, that we become a free nation ‘in name only’. And to note, many science fiction books I’ve read make similar depictions of the future.

6. and 7. “The Fair Tax Book”, and “Fair Tax: The Truth”, by Neal Boortz and former Congressman John Linder. 2005 and 2008, respectively.

• These books talk about the “Fair Tax”, which would replace our current income tax system. They are very eye opening and explain in excellent detail why the Fair Tax is the better tax system by far. Each year we fail to adopt the Fair Tax is another year that we are hobbling the economy and oppressing all taxpayers, and perhaps worst of all, punishing hard work.

8. “101 Weird Ways to Make Money” by Steve Gillman, 2011.

• Talks about many weird, different, and many highly effective, yet simple ways to make money. Thought provoking, especially for those looking for a better way than the usual ‘rat race’ way.

*****

Traits that would be really good to have:

1. Always knowing what to say or whether to say anything at all.

• This may be the best trait I could think of having. Knowing what to say and what not to say can insure that you won’t insult anyone and can win over people, maybe not to your thinking, but giving you more of what you want, like a job or promotion, buying something you’re selling, or lowering the price of something you’re buying. And, it can also help you avoid wasting time on those you’ll never convince.

2. Having great timing.

• This is almost as good. Just as you’ve lost your job, it would be great to run into someone who turns out to be a wealthy business person, presents some problem you know you can fix, and ends up hiring you for a better job than any you’ve ever had, and with great pay and benefits, too. Or simply to be there when some rich person decides to give large sums of money to passersby in the street.

3. Always looking good no matter what you’re wearing or doing or how you move.

• This, too would be good, as you would never look awkward in front of other people and therefore, they’d feel more comfortable around you, whether they knew you or not.