They call it
escape literature and I most certainly agree with that evaluation. I do use it
to escape from the dreary reality that is my life. My own personal preferences
are science fiction and fantasy. For others it may be westerns or mysteries or even
romances. It doesn’t matter. What does matter is what you get from it. Are you
seeking an escape from or to morality, are those people that you meet on the
page villains whom you wish to emulate and secretly resent being restrained by
society from doing so. Or do you long for the hero, that famous lawman from
days gone by who always got his man, or maybe the great explorer who surmounts
any obstacle to achieve the impossible. Is it the scientist who makes great life
saving advances in knowledge? Or maybe it is only the tale of the simple,
honest and hard working man who rescues a widow from loneliness and becomes a
father to her children.
One of my
favorite authors is Dean Koontz. I am
going to be honest here; I don’t consider him to be a great author. For the
most part his plots are silly and if you doubt me then you haven’t read “Dragon Tears”. I mean come on, the
antagonist just happens to be omnipotent. I ain’t buying it. But it is his
protagonists that make his stories so readable. Those good and decent people for
whom we care. When the hero is in danger I simply must turn the page to make
sure that they are safe. In his novel “Lightning”
which makes my list of all time favorite books it is Laura Shane, who has
gone through many ordeals on her way to physical and emotional maturity and who
despite many travails becomes a famous author. It is she and Danny and Thelma
for whom I care. These are the people
that I want for friends and neighbors. I am just beginning to put my thoughts
down on paper and have no idea where it will lead. Perhaps I have some talent
and will be able reach my audience or perhaps not. But how can I not admire Laura Shane who moves
people with her words and how can I not try to be more like her?
When I watch
the news I see only the results of all the evil done in the world. Occasionally
the newscaster will hold up an individual and say “this is a hero” and then we
can all smile and say well there you go, decent people still exist in the
world. Of course we don’t know who this “hero” really is. What motivated him to
this act and is he a decent man in his private life. I don’t know and neither
do you. But on the pages of a book it is another story (no pun intended). I
know Laura Shane to be a good woman whose actions are motivated by a genuine
love of the people in her life. When she acts heroically I know that she seeks neither
glory nor even recognition. This is the moral certainty that is so elusive in
the real world and this is what I wish to escape to.
So, I think
that when we “escape” to a literary world it is not an abdication of morality
but is rather a journey to a place where we can, for a time live in peace with
companions whose virtue we can admire.
Sincerely yours
The Rational Anarchist
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