Signs of the Times by Morgan Mandel

This morning I went to Mass for Lent, where the grammar school children were leading the invocations, some of which were:

Let us pray for peace in the world.
Let us pray for the unemployed.
Let us pray for our parents who are sacrificing to send us to a parochial school.

All of those invocations were about actual issues facing many Americans. We are still at war in Iraq and have no guarantee that even if we pull out, we won't be struck by terrorists when we least expect it.

Last night on TV I saw a video of people braving it out in line in the rain. The announcer said 1000 applicants came to apply for 100 jobs.

As I looked at the children in their uniforms this morning, I wondered how many of them might have to leave and go to another school because their parents can't afford to keep paying tuition.

Books can be a wonderful escape from reality. When I write, I try to pull my reader away from the real world and into the make believe realm. When I read, I read to escape.

I wonder how many other authors still write about a make believe world, or are more of them adding a dose of reality to reflect our times.

What about you? When you read, do you prefer escapism or reality? If you're an author, which do you write? Please share.

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