Alec Elston: "Dear Chuck Wendig: Beam Me to the Bridge . . . Over Troubled Waters"

Dear Chuck Wendig: Beam Me to the Bridge… Over Troubled Waters

by Alec Elston

            While procras- preparing to tackle the question what “bothers” me, I decided to do some empirical field research.  When asked at our mandatory 10 check what bothers them, 12 of my 24 dorm wing mates understandably responded with either “Donald Trump,” or something about him; 4 responses criticized being questioned and prolonging check; 3 spat back “your face” or some variant, 2 made exasperated comments about their workload, 2 responded with citations of inconsistencies in the twelfth episode of “Mike Tyson Mysteries”; and the last just sighed and quietly said “everything.” I’ll keep my eye out for a partridge in a pear tree.

            

An uncomfortable parallel, this isn’t the only poll Donald has been sweeping lately. The moneybag mogul has been leading the GOP primary polls for quite some time, and is likely to run for president as an independent if his seat gets taken. He’s made a name for himself by sensationalizing his viewpoints and taking radical stances on immigration, both of Muslims and Mexicans. His strictly anti-politically-correct policy has garnered him the undying support of the people who still think that not being able to use the n-word is oppressive.

            Sensationalism in elections is an unavoidable strategy when everyone wants to win, this I understand. Using fear and hate, however, to divide the people of our nation- this I do not and will not understand.

            Science fiction and fantasy are amazing tools for deconstructing societal problems and taking them to their logical conclusions, in order to analyze the faults in any system. For example, Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles uses Martians to comment on race relations, and Sofia Samatar uses selkies in her short story “Selkie Stories are for Losers” to characterize and help her demonstrate loss and abandonment. Likewise, speculative fiction can be used to examine the problems of today’s political environment. A two party system could be taken to the extreme- civil war, information battles for dirt to throw in the other candidate’s face, etc.

            I’m interested in the future of our political climate as well- there are some issues that republicans and democrats are beginning to agree about for the sake of creating actual change. School system reform, environmental action, healthcare reform- while all primarily partisan issues, there seems to be a wide influx of young people who believe in action. Although at times, the “action” oriented young adult groups take it too far, I’m extremely excited for fiction aimed at the societal change that young people can make.

            Science fiction is an amazing tool to inspire change, and even character building can accomplish a lot to better society. Characters who represent an accurate portrayal of minorities, to counteract Donald’s hate, can go a long way to address people’s perspectives. Too often, minority characters are vague stereotypes- “Glee” praised itself for its diversity, yet showed nothing but vapid stereotypical characters.

            I’m excited for the future of speculative fiction- the force that has been pushing the boundaries of diversity and social messages since its inception has been called to action again, to fight against racial claims that we haven’t heard since WWII, and I know it can be the hero we need again.