Nations have been getting destroyed for the past 50,000 years. Only those whose destruction occurred within a couple centuries of industrial printing and widespread literacy are remembered, and so become the paradigms of tragedy. Native Americans are lucky in that regard. And I'm an asshole. Welcome to the internet.
I'm pretty sure that Alexie's mother and mine would have gotten along nicely. I certainly know how to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory--it seems to be hot-wired into some of us more than others, for reasons that remain mysterious to me. Alexie greets his situation with a certain equanimity, and this prevents me from feeling an emotion like pity, which I am certain he wouldn't want, anyway. A poignant read, thanks.
The First Draft Diary Entry Writer continues churning out nothing and we have to say we like it or we're racist. Same trick for over twenty years now.