Jacob Riis: I Got Mad-Respect

I thought Jacob Riis's How the Other Half Lives was a pretty good read. It's the kind of muckraking journalism that our country's modern press was built on. The startling revelations contained within its pages would make that douchebag who dressed-up as a pimp to reveal the Akorn conspiracy swell with pride. Ha-ha... Seriously though, you have to respect Riis. It seems like he really got out there to write his book. He was going out with cops on raids and visiting with all kinds of crazy foreigners; whatever it took to get an accurate representation of the facts.
I had always heard about tenement life and its effects on politics and society in New York City, but Riis was really able to put me there. With facts and statistics about death rates among children, the packed conditions in tenements, and the moral depravity of the slums, the author basically adds himself to the list of forward-thinking progressives that would inspire municipal reforms in later years. What speaks more to the power of his work, though, is the lasting impact. As I read it and thought about how terrible it was that all of these people were subjected to these conditions, I was reminded that people still live like this. All over the world there are still slums where people sort through garbage just to survive. I wonder what Jacob Riis would say if he knew that now, in the 21st century, some people still live like the ones that he described in his book. Even worse, some American's still live like that! Sad stuff indeed.
For these reasons, I've got mad-respect for Jacob Riis, and for Dr. Evertson, for having us read such an insightful book.