Prepared for the end

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I packed last night for our holiday. In preparation for the worst (a Trump victory), I picked this reading material: a Tom Clancy novel where a computer president is elected (escapism), and The Better Angels of our Nature, to remind me that despite how it appears in the media, the world is getting better than it has ever been. #2016inBooks #trumpthedump #holidays from Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/BMlcs4Zg_SI/

The Five Stages of Trump Victory Grief, (now with Bonus Stage)

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Denial

There is no way that Americans would elect a racist, sexist, liar to the White House.

Anger

Holy crap, people are actually voting for someone who wants to bring back torture and targeting civilians!

Bargaining

Although, if Hillary wins a few of these small states, and there is a last minute swing….

Depression

The world is screwed.

Acceptance

I guess there only so much he can screw up in four years; maybe this will be a good wake-up call for the U.S.

Bonus stage; pre-emptive Schadenfreude.

Oh boy; I can’t wait to rub this in Trump supporters faces when it all hits the fan.

Book 35 for 2016: Locked On

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I finished this book last night after a marathon reading sessions which made it technically this morning. It has been a while since I have read a Tom Clancy book, and it was great to get back in there with the familiar characters and story arcs I was expecting. But throughout the story I quickly became aware of the fact that either my views on things have changed in the years buffering my last Clancy book, or perhaps the rhetoric in this novel is a bit more powerful than previous instalments.
The right wing-edness of the main characters is very prominent in this story, perhaps even more so due to the caricature of a left leaning president that seems to embody the conspiracy theories of those on the right who think liberals are out to destroy America (as in this novel there is literally a character trying to destroy America through liberal policies).
But hey, perhaps I am just noticing this due to the lens of the United States current political quagmire. It is bizarre to be reading a story with a presidential election that seems more real than the one I see on the news every night!
As for the story itself, it was a very entertaining read. I got exactly what I wanted from this novel, so my above comments are really just commentary on my reading experience, rather than a critique of the books itself. If you enjoyed any of the previous Jack Ryan Jr. books, the this is a welcome extension of the franchise.
#2016inBooks #JackRyanForPresident #EveryBookIsReadThroughALens from Instagram: http://ift.tt/2fy4o9T