Satanic Verses

 SATANIC VERSES

Salman Rushdie

Books for Bigots

How do we proceed in talking about SATANIC VERSES?  It has been established by Fatwa that bigots not only will not enjoy this novel, but should not read it.  I'm not sure of the consequences if one simply admits to reading it; I can only assume there might be some.  The Ayatollah Khomani declared a Fatwa against the book including the demand that Rushdie, his publisher and editors be killed.  Not a happy thought for those who might be inclined to read it.

It is not an easy book to read either: it takes you many places, you meet many characters, and it bounces from plot line to plot line which seems to be a normal manner of proceeding when this book was written in 1988 and then there is Saladin morphing into a goat and Gabreel an angel.  I'm not sure of the reason for this bouncing about but it does occur rather frequently in our modern novels.  Are our lives as disconnected from one aspect to another as they are portrayed to be?  I don't admit to that.

Considering this book had a world-wide impact, I have no excuse for not reading it sooner, but now I can admit publicly that I have read at least one, currently banned book.  Our religious brethren have always had difficulty with books.  I don't believe the Catholic Church's Index of Banned Books was officially dissolved until 1966 after four hundred years or so of its attempt to keep the faithful from reading books.  The early Christians not  only destroyed books but those who possessed them.  Hence the paucity of knowledge from antiquity.

One must realize that most active anti-book people are motivated by one religion or another.  The reason should be obvious; books contain ideas.  Ideas are not objects as such, but  have the ability to engage people in thought: always anathema.

Your religion gives you a set of beliefs.  The first premise of this set of beliefs is their truth.  To be a follower of a particular religious doctrine, one must believe it is inherently true and no other belief or doctrine is.  Belief has no factual basis hence it is incontrovertible - but at the same time easy to develop since no facts are involved. As a result,  religious beliefs can pop up just about anywhere.   The most significant danger to a belief is another belief; hence the war on books which has endured since writing first began.

Rushdie's book has the ability to make one consider one's beliefs simply by presenting various characters and activities and the effects religion has on them.  And then there are those who try to live and maintain in a land requiring belief; those who simply are trying to get by, who don't buy in, but simply want to go about their business without someone ordering them about.

Islam is not the subject of this book, it is simply described as it is and its effect on the lives of the people who adopt it (admittedly a little satire thrown in).  A portrayal of a belief through the people believing and its effect on others is sufficient to send a message to the reader that all is not what it purports to be.  Bigots understand this.  Do not read anything that even hints of difference in belief or of no belief or of anti-belief and for sure don't create characters who don't believe or say things not in keeping with the proclaimed faith which is the case in Satanic Verses.

Not much was actually said here about the book itself, but it did not need to be said when considering it as a Book for Bigots.  It is not a book for Bigots, even though they would not know what they are reading in any event.

Richard E H Phelps II

Mingo

Vineland

 VINELAND

Thomas Pynchon

Books for Bigots

Thomas Pynchon has traveled to northern Californai to inhabit the land of the pot growing community, the hippie residue, the various sorts of non-conforming Californians plus the federal government in the form of Brock Vond and his federal troops in the war on weed - marijana back then. 

Vietnam, not far behind, and the residue of the vast number of those who protested, marched and did large amounts of illegal substances during and after are now running for cover or working for the feds.  The cultural life appears to be the local pubs with local bands playing oldies always with the threat of the feds showing up to burn down the current crop of marijuana growing in the hills.  And, of course, setting up Zoyd for an arrest which concluded with an understanding that Frenesi's daughter, Prairie, would not be a part of Frenesi's life so as not to interfere with her relationship with Brock.  This was apparently ok with Frenesi.

It was interesting to see that pot growing was definitely a community endeavor.  When the threat of federal terrorism became apparent, the entire community became involved in saving as much of the product as could be saved, not much different from any farming community's effort in saving their source of income from disaster - a loss to the entire community.

Clearly, the author had a view of the DEA that was not the best.  Led by Brock Vond, it was unclear whether Vond was actually working for the DEA or was using the DEA to fulfill his desires both amorous and financial.  His main goal appears to be in bedding Frenesi Gates, the wife or ex-wife of Zoyd Wheeler and the mother of Prairie Wheeler both of whom she abandoned to work for the feds and to be bedded by Brock Vond.  

There is much in this book that would not be well-received by  the traditional Bigot.  Protesting, ingesting illegal substances, casual intercourse, a life-style of just getting by, all would be of concern to the normal rule-following Bigot.  The traditional, church-going, god-fearing American family does not appear here nor would they be welcome. 

Pynchon does throw in an interesting bunch of people, the Thanatoids for example - those addicted to and which require continued  television viewing as the necessary element of their existence.  They have to have it and spend their time watching whatever appears there.  Remember this was before CNN and Fox - - more like Leave It to Beaver or Gilligen's Island.

The Leave It to Beaver and Gilligen's Island would fit right in with the life of a Bigot but when portrayed as an anomaly and as a group of people who have simply bailed out altogether and spend their time watching inane TV, not so much.  Righteousness takes few forms, but always includes being busy doing God's work and maintaining  the proper family and community life of the obedient.  The Thanatoids have bailed out, hence not acceptable. 

Of course, through all the trauma and plot twists comes a woman by the call letters of DL who is a master tai kwondo/karate person who has the ability to kill you slowly with a certain, very lethal, movement to the body not clearly delineated.  DL and Frenesi were once pals in the movement before Frenesi became the employee, lover, and companion of Brock.  DL, with her superhuman tae kwan do powers has taken up with Prairie and Tahishe, a Japanese guy who has a somewhat mystical part in the book.  If the book has a heroine, DL is it.

Altogether one would find VINELAND a good read, keeps you interested, and ends well for all except for maybe Brock.  Bigots though, not so much.

Richard E H Phelps II

Mingo

It Had to Be

 IT HAD TO BE

Well, we've finally learned the real story.  Biden is responsible for screwworms in Texas.  Screwworms are those worms that eat cows - very concerning.  Apparently these worms came from Mexico in the form of the screwworm fly.  As with many insects, worms first had to be in the form of a flying insect.

Since screwworms are flying insects, they often evade the border patrol along the US-Mexican border.  Under Biden, apparently, our immigration officials, local authorities, and such made little or no effort to deny access to the United States of these nefarious insects.  No differentiation was made between one insect and another; no distinction was made between one species and another and because of this lack of concern we now have this issue. 

As a result of this very lax enforcement, we now have cows in Texas being eaten by screwworms.  It is up to the current administration to act and act promptly to eradicate this menace.  It is properly a function of ICE now and with all this new funding, surely the issue of the screwworm can be resolved.  With a new $70,000,000,000 to work with, we can resolve the issue with new policies and rapid enforcement.  Do not allow these flies across the border!  Stop illegal entry!

Now you say, hey wait a minute!  How do you keep a fly from crossing the Rio Grande?  Well, you know they come in at night, coming in low, evading the radar.  We simply weren't prepared for this onslaught and it's Biden's fault for not getting the equipment we needed, where it was needed, when it was needed.  

The current Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke Rollins, was quite clear though; the drug cartels have had a role to play in this new menace as well, but only because Biden didn't do anything about them either. Unfortunately, the Secretary did not elaborate on the methods by which the cartels assisted in importing this menace to Texas.   I suppose that information is classified. 

The Secretary did suggest that these insects may not have just flown in but were brought in by illegal immigrants with dogs.  After all, a dog could have been infected as it swam the Rio Grande or hid in the back of a semi.  Reading of current events one can always gain some new knowledge, can't one?  Who would have thought illegal immigrants were bringing their pets with them?

Once again lax enforcement due directly to Biden's lack of concern for the health of the cows of Texas is clearly responsible for this crisis.  There is no escaping the facts and of all people the current Secretary of Agriculture should know and have the data to support any supposition of blame.

Richard E H Phelps II

Mingo