A Fire in the Basement by Bob Herbert

Herbert starts, A Fire in the Basement with the story about the girl who was charged with murder. That girl does not even know what the word homicide means, but she become the youngest person charged with capital murder in the United States. This example and many other occasions where the people are victims of other people’s bad behavior or government behavior are the main material in Bob Herbert’s essays as a columnist for the New York Times.
Herbert was graduated from Columbia University as a journalist. As a reporter, he spent his time in places with double- dealing, hatred and murder, or those ravaged by hypocrisy. In these places, the war and terror never end. The author is concerned about war in Iraq where many young people have died or been wounded. Some of them have returned in wheelchairs like the army sergeant from Virginia. Herbert is troubled like never before about what is happening in the U.S. today. The past great promise of the beautiful future of America is not applying today. Even in the 50s and 60s, after World War II, great optimism was observed all over the United States, even through out the Vietnam war. Previously, Americans built a plentiful and high standard of living even the life though life was not as good as today. Today, young people can not find jobs. Middle-class families are drowning in debt, public schools are running out of supplies and closing. Innocents are sent to prison while men and women are killed in Iraq, and hunger and homelessness has spread all over the U.S. Schools in the U.S. were never closed even during the Great Depression or WWII. Young people are now often engaged in drug gangs, and most importantly is the criminal justice system is not fair. The author gave examples of too long period prison terms and innocent people sent to prisons. Herbert gave another example about Guantanamo Bay detainees who were arrested and sorted out later. The author pointed out that the nation is going down because of the unequal distribution of nation product. Just one percent of the very rich people were in the top of social pyramid with bottom combined 90 percent of Americans. To explain more vividly, Herbert drew a visual picture with homeless people walking through fancy jewelry shops and then back to their shelters in the church. Over 5.5 million youngsters did not have jobs in America, and their opportunity in the future includes drifting into drug selling, gang membership, prostitution, or being a target of snipers and bombers in Iraq after join the military. A solution to the problem according to the author is to create a leader who will lead the masses and take control of the American national Treasury. Leaders of this type are overmatched by the “fat cats” and the ideologues whose have a stranglehold on the nation’s financial resources and political power. Hebert finished with an appeal to the America nation. Since the time is running out and we have fire in the basement, the most protected place in house.