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Aug. 24th, 2005
[BRIEF NOTE] Science Fiction's Decadence
Aug. 24th, 2005 11:15 pmPeople who read my previous reviews of the wretched novel Watch on the Rhine, concerned with explaining just why the SS needs to be brought back to life to defend a stalwart purified Germany against Jews and Slavs alien monsters has achieved sales, according to Amazon.com's methods, ranking it in 1,171st place in Books.
I'm tempted to declare the genre of science fiction terminally decadent. Then again, there is still worthwhile science fiction out there. Perhaps it's only American science fiction that needs to be put out of its misery? Charlie Stross wrote interestingly on this subject back in April. Hint: Declining empires tend to be twitchy.
I'm tempted to declare the genre of science fiction terminally decadent. Then again, there is still worthwhile science fiction out there. Perhaps it's only American science fiction that needs to be put out of its misery? Charlie Stross wrote interestingly on this subject back in April. Hint: Declining empires tend to be twitchy.
The Guardian reports that Robertson's stupidities have managed to take on quite impressive international repercussions. This is a new high for Robertson, since his previous statements about the gay-caused asteroidal bombardment of Florida and feminism's tendency to encourage women to murder their children and become lesbians only aroused international interest, never before a diplomatic incident.
UPDATE (11:44 PM) : Christianity Today's weblog reports that Ted Haggard, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, thinks that the furor is overblown.
Another Islam? Elsewhere, Haggard seems concerned mainly that this could make things more difficult for Protestant missionaries.
To be quite fair, almost all of the other leaders quoted in the weblog condemn Robertson's statements with varying degrees of surprise and horrors. Even so, this does demonstrate that American Christianity has a decidedly dark side to it. As if that needed confirmation, but still.
UPDATE (11:44 PM) : Christianity Today's weblog reports that Ted Haggard, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, thinks that the furor is overblown.
The First Amendment is wonderful. People have free speech privileges. He wasn't writing a memo to the White House recommending a public policy decision. He was not recommending something to the State Department. He was not exposing himself sexually on the platform the way Janet Jackson did. Instead, he was having a political discussion, where they were randomly working with some ideas. For Jesse Jackson [who called for the FCC to investigate the remarks] to exaggerate it this way is just as appalling as what Pat Robertson said, I think. We're addressing it, we're not taking it lightly. Nobody is taking it seriously as a policy issue. So the system is working. Everything is fine. Nobody's going to assassinate this man. But we do realize he is a major problem. Pat Robertson was wrong in recommending this. He was wrong in saying it. But he was not wrong in being able to just openly discuss it the way political pundits do all the time. Now, if you take his words as from a religious Christian leader, as a recommendation, then we have a problem. But I don't think that's what he did.
And so you have to sort through that just a little bit, but I think what he was saying was, if our choice is a major war or the some way to deal with this military dictator, then we need to deal with the military dictator rather than have another Islam on our hands. What [Robertson] said was not illegal. What he recommended was illegal.
Another Islam? Elsewhere, Haggard seems concerned mainly that this could make things more difficult for Protestant missionaries.
To be quite fair, almost all of the other leaders quoted in the weblog condemn Robertson's statements with varying degrees of surprise and horrors. Even so, this does demonstrate that American Christianity has a decidedly dark side to it. As if that needed confirmation, but still.