Book #9

Empire
by Orson Scott Card

I gave in to my weakness for political rhetoric -- probably because it's been more than half a year since I was last on a debating site, and more than a year since I quit Debate Politics, home of the wackiest of conservatives -- and bought Empire, by Orson Scott Card, when we were getting a buy two get one deal from Fred Meyer's. After trying to read Book 10 of the Wheel of Time, which I didn't enjoy reading because I wasn't really in the mood for it and the end of the series is still up in the air, but I felt I should try to read before I forget what happened in book 9, I decided to give this thing a try. So the interesting part is that it's Orson Scott Card, whose writing I like very much -- Alvin Maker and Ender are two of my favorite series -- and the downside is, apparently OSC is a die-hard conservative, who believes Bush has done great things for our country by making our military strong again and using our might to combat the deadly threat of Islamic terrorism, despite the whining of European intellectuals who don't admit how lucky they are that we are around to save their asses, and despite the treasonous actions of liberals here in the US, whose opposition to the war has done great harm to our mighty and courageous troops. At least, that's the kind of crap he says in the book.

Reading Empire was like that from start to finish: I still like Card's writing, especially the way he does action scenes; one of the more exciting writers I know. I like the characters he creates (for the most part) and I like the way he leaves endings open while still wrapping up the main storyline. But goddamn, did I get sick of reading right-wing propaganda about how worthless and vile and stupid all liberals are, how nobody who has any brains or balls would ever support the left. He tried to disavow any allegiance to either side of the divide in his Author's Note, claiming that the greatest threat to America is the extremists on either side, particularly the rhetoric that both sides use to castigate each other, but it was tough to swallow his serene distance after reading all the mud he slung at liberals. It's pretty clear that he saw this book as an opportunity to get some payback on what he sees as the liberal media's domination of spin in this country (This despite some nods in the book to Fox as the preferred news outlet for the men of the armed forces, a seemingly neutral comment except for the fact that everyone in this book falls into two categories: rightwing conservative military men, and scum. He also makes Bill O'Reilly look fair and balanced [He has a Fox executive say that in all earnestness, by the by] and like a reasonable man who's just looking to broadcast the truth in order to serve his fellow man.) and that's exactly what he tries to do.

In terms of the plot, it would be reasonable except for one thing: in this world, a billionaire liberal funds an armed insurrection in the US, taking over New York City and using this as a jumping-off point for a full revolution, asking the state legislatures to disavow the government in Washington and join with the Progressive movement. This is never going to happen, regardless of conservative paranoia and the hurt feelings of right-wingers like Card who are sick of hearing that they are the ones who are dangerous to the country and not the Left. I hate to say it, Orson old pal, but it's true: I could see the Left taking over the government through elections, and maybe even going too far towards despotism/oligarchy once they were duly elected, but there's no way that the liberals of this country will ever start the fight. If anyone is going to start a revolution, it's going to be the right wing, or at best the Libertarians et al, assuming we are not meant to see them as conservative, per se. But it ain't ever going to be people like me and my family who break out the guns.

I did realize, after reading this book, that Orson Scott Card apparently subscribes to Ayn Rand's philosophy of human perfection, that a man with sufficient talent and ambition can become so perfect in every way that not only can that person make the entire world dance to his tune, but we should be glad to do so. The war in this book is apparently fomented single-handedly by the true hero, the unparalleled genius who seeks to take over the US in order to begin the movement away from the American Republic and towards the American Empire, exactly as the Romans did. And though it seems that this may be an evil thing to do, it's also fairly clear that Card is rooting for this, as the apparent hero has great admiration for the magnificence of the Great Man who would become Augustus (that's what the hero calls the Great Man, because we don't believe in subtlety here), and since the apparent hero is such a magnificent person in every possible way -- fit, brilliant, honorable, heroic, virile, and the perfect friend, father, husband, and team leader -- the person that he admires? Surely that man must be like unto a god. Even if he is trying to become a despot, dammit, that's the kind of despotism that would make America the greatest country in the world! Oh, if only we had a perfect tyrant to take over and make everything good again!

Alas.