Book report

I once loved fiction. But over the years it became harder and harder to find a book I truly liked. I started reading non-fiction, and not “true life stories” either. I drifted away from stories altogether and nowadays I mostly read psychology books, history books, science books, health books, and even occasionally religious philosophy.

I’m not quite sure why I lost interest in fiction. Partly because it seems like so much of it is deliberately emotionally upsetting. I am overly sensitive. I do not watch TV or go to movies and have not been jaded by countless hours of exposure to high drama. So if a book is advertised as “thrilling” or “riveting” or “stunning” or “astounding”, it’s likely going to be over the top for me.

Nonetheless, I joined a book club in when we were still in Livermore and read the first book. But then I didn’t show up to the meeting because I didn’t have anything good to say about the book we just read. And I was new to the group, so I didn’t want to be the new, critical member. It was a currently popular fantasy book and the bit that really bugged me was the theme of genetic superiority.

The fact that this theme currently popular in our culture make me uneasy. This theme of genetic superiority is found in much of our wildly popular sci-fi and fantasy stories such as Star Wars and Harry Potter, as well as the multitude of similar stories.

In these stories, it is common to have protagonists who are genetically special and superior due to lineage. They are usually in a minority and underdog position in society, but that is only because the masses are stupid and deluded; fearful and misguided in their poor treatment of the chosen few.

I believe that one of the main purposes of civilization is to protect the underdogs; to help ensure that the downtrodden have a fair life, and to limit the power grabs of the privileged. So I don’t mind the promotion of the strength, determination and success of underdogs in these stories. However, I do very much mind the promotion of underdogs who are genetically superior due to special lineage. It reminds me too much of Hitler’s Germany. I would prefer to see stories where ordinary people – with various lineages, both humble and privileged, overcome obstacles, do the hard thing and succeed.

You may think it doesn’t matter – they are just stories. But stories are how we teach our children, and ourselves and each other. We tell stories. Nowadays we watch movies, post on youtube, post on facebook, post memes and funny pictures. But they are all stories, and they all serve to shape our culture.

Why are we teaching our children that to be successful you must have special powers due to genetic superiority?

And why are we teaching our children that huge swaths of generic masses of humanity are basically stupid, misguided, and useless?

Do we think that what happened in Hitler’s Germany could never happen again? Do we think it was only due to one psychopathic leader? Do we imagine that half of the German population was somehow evil and the rest of us aren’t? As long as we believe we are above it all, as long as we believe that it couldn’t happen to us, we will not take the steps necessary to insure that it doesn’t happen again.

Which brings me to my main topic – I would like to recommend a work of fiction that is one of the best books I have read in a long time. It’s called, “All The Light We Cannot See,” by Anthony Doerr. I’m surprised I even bought the book, because it is set during WWII. Therefore, the topic matter is inherently upsetting. But the author is not trying to be sensationalist, and handles the material thoughtfully.

One of the things I like the best about this book is that one of the main characters is a German youth. We get to see the war from his perspective. And it’s fascinating (and scary) to see how basically normal he is – he is not inherently evil, or at least no more than the rest of us.