I recently completed reading the 8-book series “Kent Family Chronicles” by John Jakes.  This work of historical fiction covers the history of America from pre-revolution through the late 1800’s.  It’s a remarkable work that brought to my attention many different historical events of which I was previously unaware, as well as bringing to life historical figures and events that I had studied throughout my education.  It is not always a glamorous look, though.  Much of our history is marked by the philosophy “Greed is Good, It’s all about me”.  Two blog postings today follow on this theme.  In “Who’s responsible for the fragility of Haiti“, Chip Bruce reviews an article from CommonDreams.org that points out our history of development in nations is often based on what is best for our country, not the people within the country to whom we are providing aid.  In “Book Tour Diary: Changing the Script the Jon Stewart“, Jim Wallis record bonuses at a time of great economic suffering as not just a shame, but a sin of biblical proportions.  He goes on to say that it is a symptom of a broader erosion of societal values.  But it strikes me that the history of America is a continuing one of corporate greed, of an overall philosophy by too many in leadership positions that “Greed is Good, It’s All About Me”.  It is not a new erosion.  Until we own that history and repent of it, we will continue to see such class disparities, and we will continue to see catastrophes that disproportionately impact the poor that we leave in our wake.