View RSS Feed

Memories of the 28th Century

Are They Slaves?

Rating: 4 votes, 5.00 average.
I am working on rewriting a novel, so I picked up a known good novel to determine whether my novel is any good. The comparison is with Player Piano by Kurt Vonnegut. I read Player Piano a fair number of years ago, but I couldn’t remember much detail about it; in general it is about technological displacement of workers. It was published in 1952, so some people might think it is out of date, but the same issues are still current. People are still being required to be over-trained for all positions, and minimum job requirements are much higher than necessary. People who don’t have at least an undergraduate degree can expect no work to be available, and if you specialty disappear, then you are out of work. But the item that I especially enjoy is the Shah of Bratpuhr, who is touring the U.S. with a guide/translator.

The Shah observes Americans doing various things and asks the guide/ translator if they are slaves. The guide says they are not, but the Shah thinks otherwise. The Shah later sees some military exercises and comments that those people are slaves, and so on. Many Americans follow the comings and goings of the British royal family, as if we hadn't discarded them centuries ago. I don't think that Americans are slaves in any ordinary way, but there are many people who seem to desire to have an authority over them that will take care of them and tell them what to do. I won't even guess at the percent of Americans who feel that way, but it may be as high as the incidence of sports fandom, which is about 60%.

Perhaps the desire to be a slave is similar to religious beliefs. People want to think that there is someone or something watching over them that will take care of them when they need help, etc. This belief can also be seen in the political beliefs of some people. Some people want a government that will take care of them, rather than a government that will let them live their lives as they wish.

I think that much of the friction within U.S. politics is between those two opposing views. There really are more than two views, because many people say they favor one side, when they actually prefer the other; people who oppose nanny government but who want government paid medical insurance, as one example.

Then there are the conspiracy theory loving people who speak of the general ruck of humanity as "sheeple", who are lead around by the New World Order, or which ever conspiracy they prefer. Perhaps a term like that is better. Most people will rebel against being called "slaves" in any sense of the word, but they are willing to accept orders that may be offensive, and those who accept religious authority believe things that are completely beyond logic and evidence.

Humans are social animals, and it appears that they have lived in groups for millions of years, and it appears that acceptance of the word of a chief has been part of living in a society, but as often as not the chief was selected by those who would be ruled. I don't like the ide of people being sheep, but many people are unable or unwilling to make decisions for themselves; I won't guess at the percent that is in that category, but it is a substantial percent.

On the other hand, does it matter whether people are sheep to be led by leaders, demagogues, prophets, etc.? I don't know, but there are many people who lack the intellectual capacity to understand much of what happens in the world. That lack of intellectual capacity is one reason why humans follow alternative explanations of reality, such as religions and conspiracy theories.

I wonder if there ever was a culture where people looked at the world logically and discussed issues rationally until a rational determination was found. I would guess that the majority of people were more interested in listening to ghost stories or watching TV. But I don't know for sure. Considering the average level of intelligence, the average person probably has never been capable of logical argumentation or planning much of anything, so most people have needed some direction from people with intelligence simply to live. Or maybe it just seems like that, because so many people simply refuse to even try to think, and that often results in them acting as if they are willing to accept the judgement of others.

My Conclusions:
Are Americans (or the people of any other country) slaves? Some are, but slavery is illegal almost everywhere, so they aren't truly slaves. Are people fully responsible for their lives and decisions? Too many things are outside the control of individuals for that to be possible. Are people "sheeple"? Some probably are, but everyone should try to live his or her life responsibly.

What do you think?
Let me know.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheeple

Comments