In my recent addiction to John Green I have rediscovered why, more than anyone, I love smart (all be them, nerdy) writers. In one of many videos he discusses ways in which we are haunted by the past, not memories but also by citizens of times before our own.
Science fiction reminds us over and over that humanity, in it's attempts to perfect itself, will create tragedy. We are the architects of our own suffering. In the corrupt laws of our lands, in xenophobia, zealotry, we curse the generations to come. We also, as happens in pretty much every story ever told, find in ourselves tremendous capacity for survival and for moments of joy, for lifetimes of hope.
He, John Green, also discusses the importance of community and of mutual concern, a thought oft brought up in Science Fiction. Be warned, he is not a scifi writer, but has inspired many. Currently I am reading an Ender novel and rewatching Battlestar Galactica, both compelling humanist philosophy exercises dressed up as stories about space and war and occasionally bigass shiny robots.
Also, an open letter to all people who, with nose upturned, reject genre fiction, let me remind you of some genre fiction writers: Ray Bradbury (science fiction), Stephen King (horror), and Ernest Hemingway (nature). Then, allow me to remind you not to confuse romance novels with the rest of genre. There is entertainment in romance and that is full enough of it's own merit, but in mystery and scifi there is completely compelling intellectual debate, not all of the time, but at least some of the time, and some of it is gorgeous. Affectionately, Katie
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