How far the Mighty have fallen! From the ending of the Planet of the Apes starring Charles Heston. An eye opener.

May 3, 2014

I could call this a call to arms of sorts, but I won't.

Writers are probably for the most part more engaged in the mechanisms of society than most, and for good reason, they care about the world they live in and if it works or not. I think most people care, but they just don't put out the energy to make a difference. Perhaps they're in overwhelm, denial, or withdrawal for whatever the reason.

A good example of this is the current state of education in the United States. We have fallen so far behind other countries in the quality of our education, even though we  have far more money to spend than most countries put together.

Why is this?

Are we going through some kind of evolutionary change where stupid is in and enlightenment is out? One could certainly make a case for stupid when one reads the newspapers, follows the new on radio and TV and listens to the craziness of politics and some might say religion.

Global warming, garbage overflowing our oceans and lands, food that is not fit for an animal being prosletized as healthy to eat when it's not, failure of government to regulate monopolies, to safeguard liberties...it goes on and on.

In George Orwell's 1984 he postulated a time when society would be ruled by conformity, massive telecommunications would program people with how to think, speak and act.

One has to wonder if that is some kind of prophecy, as TV has millions, even billions mesmerized by food that will kill us, cars that are not safe, politics that is not for the people, but the elite. I could go on and on about this, but I think the point is clear.

Storytelling is often times a barometer for what is occuring or about to occur if we're not careful.

So are we going through a major evolutionary change in America? Or are we failing as a nation just like Britain, France, German and so many other once great nations did?

I leave you with those questions to ponder. George Orwell did. And 1984 was written in 1949. We've been living that story now for decades. Will we still be living it in the next century? Or will we become the Lost Continent of America, even as Atlantis dwindled into the mists of time and history, shrinking from a mighty continent of enlightened beings to a shrunken island barely able to stay above the waves and finally vanish.