There was a chance comment on the blog today from a poster who mentioned a novel that I read many years ago. I had started writing an article about it a few years ago, but had wandered off onto other tangents and down other paths and had left it abandoned to gather dust. So here I am, re-reading what I had written and now trying to make some sense of it and my thoughts about it. And I can tell you that the article I originally wrote is vastly different to the one I write today.
It is angry and frustrated and not the same suggestion of tolerance it was in 2018 when I first tapped out words on my computer.
How times have changed. Tolerance? Begone. I am over tolerating intolerance from those who hate me.
A book I read as a youngster has become a warning for society. Where do we go when the rulers shut our voices down?
So let's have a quick look at the book.
The Chrysalids by John Wyndham, first published in 1955, is a work of science fiction that explores the themes of conformity, fear of the unknown, and the consequences of a rigid, intolerant society. Set in a post-apocalyptic future, the novel presents a world where a catastrophic event has reshaped human civilisation. And a place that was utopia.
The remnants of humanity have retreated into isolated communities where deviation from the norm is not just frowned upon, but ruthlessly exterminated.
When I first read it, I thought it was about a nuclear war gone wrong. But of late, I have changed my opinion. Even John Wyndham would not see his novel through the lens of a modern reader.
People used to say that, at the heart of The Chrysalids, was a look at the dangers of conformity and the fear of difference.
I disagree. It was always about telepathy. The conformity and " difference" angles were subplots to his real goal: to open our minds to global conversations and the wonder of speaking with people we will never meet.
Isn't this what we do every day on social media?
The ability to communicate without being physically present.
What if the telepathy that John Wyndham describes is our access to the internet? Where we can communicate across vast distances? Is there any wonder that we see the internet being shut down, censored and manipulated?
And normality is as defined by the rulers of the community. And we are now at a stage where the rulers of our Nations have redefined the definition of normality.
Surely we are seeing this today where people who are Christian, heterosexual, white, conservative, family oriented and patriotic are now seen as enemies?
No, this is not an article about a novel. Not really.
It is an article about the thoughts that this novel provoked. Over the decades, people have tried to analyse John Wyndham's words and what he meant. Much like they have done with the words of writers like JRR Tolkien and so many others.
Does New Sealand exist as in the story? It surely is not modern New Zealand. No, it is not modern New Zealand, Australia, America or Britain that is for sure. There was a time, but not now.
Where is our land of refuge? Of free speech?
It reminds me of that great film " Hunt for the Wilderpeople. "
When we are hunted down with lies and deception, where do we run? We run to the bush. The Outback. The places that the government hates.
I am tired of politicians from all countries talking to us like we are morons.
When Vance and Trump talk with us they do not talk down. But they communicate more and more through the telepathy of the internet.
