Quote:
Originally Posted by bill_mchale
Dennis,
What I find interesting is that I can be engaged by books with lots of political and social ideas. For example, I like all three of Heinlein's most famous works (Star Ship Troopers, Stranger in a Strange Land and The Moon is a Harsh Mistress) but I am not turned off by the strong political or religious ideas in any of them; I think in large part because the works are so very different. Heinlein is exploring the ideas, not necessarily preaching them (Though Moon is a Harsh Mistress seems to come close to his personal beliefs I think).
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Oh, I agree, and Heinlein is an example I'd use too. I don't think it's
possible to separate your own beliefs and attitudes from your fiction: they can't avoid coloring the work. But RAH was telling a story first, and the ideas were implicit in the story. He wasn't using the story as a platform from which to push his ideas.
And Heinlein may present ideas you disagree with, but he forces to to examine his ideas and your own and explain
why you disagree, if you expect to do so successfully. Examining your own beliefs can be a real challenge, as they often live on an unconscious level. They are attitudes and feelings, not reasoned statements.
A lot of Heinlein's work can be viewed as RAH systematically examining the Midwest Bible Belt beliefs he was raised in, and saying "Does this make sense?", with the answer often being "No!". His proposed alternatives can incite passionate denials, and even Heinlein fans can bicker endlessly about some of his books.
An example is _Starship Troopers_, and whether the government described is a military government. You can make a case for it: the system is described as an outgrowth of a major war that seems to have largely collapsed both combatants, with the genesis in local pockets of order imposed by returning veterans who trusted each other, and placed restrictions on who could join the club and get a say in how things are done. By the time of ST, getting the vote requires completing a term of Federal Service, but lots of Federal Service positions aren't military per se.
I think Moon does somewhat express RAH's own beliefs. An old friend who knew him socially once sent Heinlein a card asking if his beliefs could be largely described as Libertarian, and RAH replied "Yes".
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Dennis