Among those signing one of several Internet petitions against military involvement in Iraq are a bunch of SF writers.
More power to ’em, of course. That’s everyone’s right, and they are to be lauded for actually speaking out, regardless of how you feel about what they’re speaking.
That having been said, I’m not so sure about this part:
“Science fiction writers have a special interest in the future, and the U.S. policy on Iraq is putting our future at risk,” said Douglas Lain …. “It’s no wonder that so many fine writers in the genre are coming out in opposition to Bush and his war.
Do SF writers really have a more “special interest” in the future than, say, housewives, DBAs, or jet pilots?
Should we pay more attention to what SF writers have to say than, say, bankers, statisticians, or school teachers?
Should we poll SF writers to see how many of them are opposed to a war, vs. how many of them do? If more SF writers back Bush, does that mean that war on Iraq has some sort of special blessing?
Are there other, more qualified genre writers, perhaps? Military fiction and Techno-thriller writers might have some special insight into the military outcomes. Romance writers might better understand the heartbreak of separation in wartime. Mystery writers might have figured out whether Saddam is really hiding WMDs or not. Epic Fantasy writers have a special interest in Grand Wars between Good and Evil. Western writers might comprehend more fully the idea of a showdown in the hot desert sun. True Crime writers might chime in with reports of the depredations of the the Baghdad regime. Historical fiction writers …
… well, you get the idea.
I never again put anything in a press release while my tongue is in my cheek.
If that means that it was a tongue-in-cheek statement, then the subtlety seems to have been missed by SciFi (no great surprise there), or whoever did the actual reporting. And, if so, I regret you got to be centerpiece of a rant.
It was meant to be picked up by news agencies and repeated, but it wasn’t meant to be taken entirely seriously.
Will the war on Iraq put our future at risk. Yes.
Do Science Fiction write (often enough anyhow) about the future. Yes.
Do these writers care more about the future than plumbers? Probably not. Human beings want to survive.
It was just supposed to be a hook for newspapers really. Sorta funny, but still speaking truth to power.
Hmmm. Well, the newspaper coverage (at least the SciFi newsblurb came across more seriously than that.