Doublethink

Ruben Navarrette, Jr. wrote a a very interesting article on the increasing nativist levels in America, an ironic turn as at one point, we were all immigrants.  You can find the article here.

The article is very good, and around the tenth paragraph Navarrette, Jr. has a very nice description of the First Amendment and freedom of speech in terms of societal context.  Overall, the article talks about the hatred towards immigrants, both public and private, sanctioned and unsanctioned.

I simply cannot fathom this hatred as immigrants and the acceptance of immigrants are the most crucial parts of what makes America great.  It may sound a bit trite, but truly, it is this diversity that has allowed America  to flourish and in turn, our acceptance of immigrants has (usually) led to subsequent freedoms that make America a better place to live than anywhere else in the world.  America has gone through cycles of nativism against many different groups (i.e. the Polish, the Italians, the Jews, and now Mexicans).  These periods are usually among the worst in American history in terms of freedom and they really do showcase the negative side of America.  So, hopefully the current era of nativism that we are in now will end quickly so that America can move on to what it does best: freedom.

Of course someone will notice, but if the government is smart (and malicious) enough, they will be able to create a surveillance state driven by restrictions and a powerful and overbearing government.

Very few leaders and governments set out to ruin the lies of their citizens by enacting various forms of oppression on them, however it is sometimes the seemingly benign (and sometimes seemingly helpful) governmental actions that can lead to a dictatorship.  And if these actions are implemented slowly, over a long period of time, citizens will become less and less aware of these repressive changes as they become more habituated to them.

Let’s take a common example that by now many of us take for granted.  Speed cameras and speed trucks.  They are irritating, yes, but very few people nowadays would go out and protest their presence.  We have become used to their ubiquitous nuisance, and that is very dangerous because these cameras are part of increasing state surveillance.

This process of habituation can lead to negative, state-sponsored alterations in our society that normally the majority of the American populace would not be ok with, but because of these changes being broadcasted as safer and better for the country combined with the relatively low speed that they are implemented, many of us simply accept these Orwellian societal shifts as actions of trivial and innocuous importance.

Definitely creepy.

Brave New Worlds is a diverse collection of dystopic short stories that I fully recommend.  I happened upon the book by accident in my local bookstore, however I am extremely glad that I found this literary gem.  The dystopias in the story are a wide-ranging bunch that include near-future worlds where the general populace is under some form of oppression.  However, that is truly the only overarching framework between these short stories as there are many different looks at the various forms of state oppression.  Examples range from a world were almost all are underground miners who are subject to terrible conditions by the ruling company to a country where a few ordinary citizens are given a red card which allows them to kill anyone of their choice.  It also includes classics like Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery and Philip K. Dick’s The Minority Report (later made into a Tom Cruise movie).

My three favorite stories in the book are

3.  “Repent, Harlequin!” Said the Ticktockman by Harlan Ellison

–A future in which the world is run precisely on time and on schedule or else the Ticktockman (the enforcer of order, schedule, and time) will cut time off the lives of those who are tardy until they reach a point where there is simply no time left.  A Peter Pan-Robin Hod combination of a rebel opposes this regime and provides for the development of the story’s plot.

2. Ten With a Flag by Joseph Paul Haines

–In a future state where a number system dominates social and political systems, the lives of a middle-of-a-road couple suddenly change permanently when they learn that their unborn child has a rare and prestigious rating of a ten, albeit with a flag (which denotes a sacrifice of a sort has to be made).  This story has one of the best endings in literature and the story itself is very scary in its portrayal of governmental power and surveillance.

1. Of a Sweet Slow Dance in the Wake of Temporary Dogs by Adam-Troy Castro

–Wow.  One of the most thought provoking pieces of writing I have ever seen.  The story takes place in the fictional land of Enysbourg, a place of vibrant and beautiful life unlike any other n the world.  Enysbourg is so heavenly and incredible as compare to rest of the otherwise stale and gray world that, through the means of advanced technology, it forces its citizens to go through one day of sheer hell per every nine days of energetic, perfect paradise.  Castro’s excellent word choice and florid descriptive language help to create a picture of incalculable beauty as well as gruesome images of utter pain and destruction.  The story is one of the best I have ever read and brings up the question of whether one wants to live a safe, but monotonous and boring daily life or if they would choose to have the best and most memorable times of his or her life 90% of the time, punctuated by brief spites of equally memorable times of loss and despair.

You can find the book on Amazon here.

This is my first of (I hope) many posts on worst possible potential scenarios that could with a little push happen and make a country more repressive as it tries to instill order.  We begin with Japan, site of the recent terrible natural and artificial disaster.  These next hypotheses are simply, hypotheses, but they are ideas that could possibly come to frightening fruition.

Step 1- The Japanese government will ask for financial aid from both domestic and international sources

Step 2- These sources loan/donate the money to help support the damaged Japanese infrastructure

Step 3- In wake of the national emergency, the Japanese government spurred on by the recent usefulness of the banks, take measures to seize control of private banks in order to further help the country’s interests

Step 4- In terms of the nuclear plant meltdowns, the Japanese government sends militarized containment teams to both control the plant and shepherd the people of the area

Step 5- The government blames the failure of the plant(s) on the private corporations and begins to think of butting in on their operations

Step 6- With the strong support of a Japanese public that is still traumatized and struggling, the government nationalizes many nuclear power plants and other assorted energy and utility companies in the country

Step 7- The Western world protests these actions and decries Japan’s blatant violation of private business

Step 8- Citing a neo-Bushido code and the uselessness of foreign aid, Japan decides to go it alone and closes it borders both to immigration and emigration

Step 9- Mass deportations ensue and those who refuse to leave and are not distinctly Japanese are herded into temporary “relocation” camps

Step 10- The militarized containment teams both expand their numbers and role; they now dominate many areas and they do not hesitate to use violence in order to move control people in disaster areas

Step 11- The Japanese government passes the Kontorōrukontorōru (Control) Act, which expands the emergency powers of the government in order to better handle the current and future disasters

Step 12- Protest to the new law is high both inside and outside of the country as critics point point out the law’s infringements on civil liberties as well as the dangerous potential it holds in terms of its implied powers

Step 13- The militarized containment groups (at this point fulfilling a hybrid role of secret police/state enforcer) quickly round up the protesters and stick them in the relocation camps which have become hard labor zones

Step 14- The government institutes a draft and begins to use propaganda heavily throughout the nation

Step 15- Japanese war mobilization begins, although it is played off as simply more “cleanup” of the disasters

Step 16- Japanese industrial production increases, largely through the work camps and the new dedication to a military command economy in the wake of the disasters

Step 17- Citing a necessity for resources after the disasters, Japan demands that its neighbor China ship resources immediately over to Japan

Step 18- China, unafraid of the seemingly weakened Japan, obviously refuses

Step 19- Japan launches a surprise attack on the Chinese coastline and shows the same World War II ferocity, but instead with smarter, deadlier, and more efficient tactics.

Step 20- As Japan rampages through Chinese cities and towns, they claim that their assaults are justified by the 2nd Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere

Step 21- Japan allies with North Korea, who then with Japanese technology and assistance proceed to invade South Korea

Step 22- America feels compelled to defend its allies/interests in the Far East and mobilizes troops, even though public support for a distant war is low as the public is much more concerned with their own domestic problems

Step 23- Other countries join each side, leading to a monumental war where neither side has the advantage and both sides are willing to use nuclear weapons

Step 24- The Japanese then adopt this as their new national flag in order to reflect their new strength, power, and control

Step 25- Aw, #@$%

According to an ABCNews article that you can find here, North Korea is very close to creating an electromagnetic pulse bomb.  Yahoo!  No doubt this came at the cost of the housing and food of 2 million North Korean citizens, but hey, it’s whatever.  It seems that an almost cyclical pattern is emerging in terms of North Korea, its weapons , and the rest of the world.  Cycle= 1. North Korea infuriated at U.S. war games/South Korean war games/U.S. and South Korean mobilization/west Iowa girl scout cookie sale. 2.  North Korea threatens to unleash devastating nuclear/electromagnetic/biochemical capitalist-destroying doomsday weapon upon South Korea and Western civilization.  3.  Everybody gets very, very scared 4. Nothing happens. 5. Repeat.  Unfortunately, one day North Korea may cross the line, and well then, we are all screwed.  Gotta love good ol’ Kimmy.

Yes, it’s here.  The Atlas Shrugged movie is coming out on April 15, 2011 (Tax Day).  The first trailer has just come out, and the setting is modern day leaning a tiny bit into the future.  The characters are more or less how I depicted them, and the scenes seem to have a good balance of action and dialogue.  The dialogue, however, will be very tricky.  It will be an interesting challenge for the director to figure out how to balance Ayn Rand’s high and mighty words with modern America culture.  The movie is part of a trilogy, with one movie for each section of the book.  You can find the trailer here and a full review of the extended trailer here.

Recently, I had to do an exercise about the whitewashing of Huck Finn concerning the “n-word” and how I felt about it either way.  Here is my response…

This year on March 8th, the coolest videogame of all-time will appear in stores.  It is called Homefront, and it is a first person shooter that puts the player in the shoes of an American guerrilla fighter who is resisting North Korean occupation.  The setting is near-future America, where America has collapsed economically, and Korea has expanded and decides to invade the U.S.  You can find the IGN preview here.  The main site for the game is here.  I cannot honestly think of a more awesome gaming idea than this one.  I mean who doesn’t want to fight evil North Korean soldiers in suburban America?  Not only will this game just be fun to play but also it will be eerily relevant as the future that the game foreshadows is one that is scarily plausible.

In-game vehicle? pleaseeeee?

I cannot wait to see the myriad of North Korean totalitarian elements on American soil.

Uh oh.

Recently I found a rare concurrence of my interests–baseball, school, and North Korea–through a combination of CNN.com and MLB.com.  A little more than a month ago, Shin-Soo Choo and the South Korean national team defeated Taiwan in the Asian Games which guaranteed Choo an exemption from the South Korean military.  You can find that article here.  Choo is an excellent player, and by far the best player on the Cleveland Indians; however, there had been doubt if he would’ve been able to play because of South Korea’s mandatory military service.  And on a related note, South Korean students are getting nervous about their mandatory enlistment  because tensions with North Korea are very high.  You can find that article here.  Hopefully, North Korea becomes integrated with the rest of the world and then their society will realize that their county really is not the happiest place.  And Shin-Soo Choo will get to star in the big leagues.  And the Indians will still suck.   Have a very happy (and politically correct) holiday!!

Oceania, cough cough, sorry, the United States of America is creating a vast intelligence system that will include “thousands of U.S. residents, many of whom have not been accused of any wrongdoing.”  They are doing this in an effort to crack down on terrorism in America as Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano says in a rather scary quote, “The old view that ‘if we fight the terrorists abroad, we won’t have to fight them here’ is just that – the old view.”  You can fin the whole Washington Post article here.  This is very, very bad.  Not only does this system infringe upon the civil rights of innocent people but also this system will cost taxpayers even more money to create something straight out of 1984. I really hope that this falls through somehow, but I am afraid my hopes will not be met.  Once the U.S. government sets its eye on expansion and civil restriction, it is very good at following through (see Patriot Act).  Just remember, your government is watching….