Reading past Liturature

I just spent the morning at the Regent Library reading poems and other creative writings on the topic of Justice. It was an anthology of Literature called Cry out for Justice, full of controversial poetry, art works and writings throughout time; all written in defense of the poor and Oppressed. It had a Forward by Jack London. The book swept from the perspective of the oppressed to the advocates and their disdain for the present circumstances,God's call for Change, the helpful and the hurtful things the church has done, and the hopes for the future, also a section on remembrance and one on Children.
I sat there soaking up this great literature, thinking about how much of it still applies to today, and how we are so selective of the writings from the past that we read so that we read Romeo and Juliet a million times over and neglect some of Shakespeare's provocative stuff same with Emerson and Whitman, and Adams and a hundred other writers.
I left thinking about how today these writings still speak of places like the DTES, and if only we realized how continual this problem has been and that we could cause it to cease...

On my way home i sat on the bus next to a guy who could not read and was asking which buses to take to get home.

It is a privilege and a responsibility to read.