...or "Fiction Disguised as Prophesy"


Giving credit where credit is due, I found the following at Boortz Nuze this morning. An essay written by Dan Simmons. The site is currently in Crash-Mode, probably from all the traffic Boortz sent it. I had trouble loading the page myself, so I'm providing Mr. Simmons link as well as a link to my "Pocket Full of Mumbles Source Library" where I've stored a full copy complete with appropriate attribution of copyright. Per my disclaimer at the bottom of the page, 'ELAshley makes no claim of ownership to any work not his own, only safe storage. Ownership of all works are clearly, and rightfully attributed.'

Having stated that...

Let me first say that what follows, for me, is not anti-Democrat, nor is it Pro-Republican. The fact the Boortz posted a link to this on election day says only that the stakes are high in this election whoever takes power. The fate of our culture and civilization is, I believe, at stake. It doesn't all have to go south with a Democratic takeover of the House, but it could... Just as easily as it could all go south if Republicans retained control. The question is, after all the dust settles will Nancy Pelosi finally admit we are at war... will America stop bickering and accept the fact that we are at war? A war for our way of life-- this so-called "Western Civilization" that America and Europe so enjoy... And take for granted?

Islam is not a Peaceful Religion. However much one wants to make it so, any honest read of the Qur'an and the statements of its followers should tell anyone with ears to hear that this is the case. Nor does Islam know how to live peacefully with its neighbors.

The whole essay, depending on how fast you read, will take anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes of your time-- It's worth the read, despite the science-fiction aspect. Just think of the 'Time Traveller' as a metaphor for 'Hindsight is 20/20'.

As to the except below, think of 9.11 and our response to those attacks and allow the Pearl Harbor comparison to pique your interest. If it does, please take the time to read the whole article.

Oh! Almost forgot the excerpt

......... He waved me into silence.
"You were a philosophy major or minor at that podunk little college you went to long ago," said the Time Traveler. "Do you remember what Category Error is?"

It rang a bell. But I was too irritated at hearing my alma mater being called a "podunk little college" to be able to concentrate fully.

"I'll tell you what it is," said the Time Traveler. "In philosophy and formal logic, and it has its equivalents in science and business management, Category Error is the term for having stated or defined a problem so poorly that it becomes impossible to solve that problem, through dialectic or any other means."

I waited. Finally I said firmly, "You can't go to war with a religion. Or, I mean . . . sure, you could . . . the Crusades and all that . . . but it would be wrong."

The Time Traveler sipped his Scotch and looked at me. He said, "Let me give you an analogy . . ."

God, I hated and distrusted analogies. I said nothing.

"Let's imagine," said the Time Traveler, "that on December eighth, Nineteen forty-one, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt spoke before a joint session of Congress and asked them to declare war on aviation."

"That's absurd," I said.

"Is it?" asked the Time Traveler. "The American battleships, cruisers, harbor installations, Army barracks, and airfields at Pearl Harbor and elsewhere in Hawaii were all struck by Japanese aircraft. Imagine if the next day Roosevelt had declared war on aviation . . . threatening to wipe it out wherever we found it. Committing all the resources of the United States of America to defeating aviation, so help us God."

"That's just stupid," I said. If I'd ever been afraid of this Time Traveler, I wasn't now. He was obviously a mental defective." The planes, the Japanese planes," I said, "were just a method of attack . . . a means . . . it wasn't aviation that attacked us at Pearl Harbor, but the Empire of Japan. We declared war on Japan and a few days later its ally, Germany, lived up to its treaty with the Japanese and declared war on us. If we'd declared war on aviation, on goddamned airplanes rather than the empire and ideology that launched them, we'd never have . . ."

I stopped. What had he called it? Category Error. Making the problem unsolvable through your inability – or fear – of defining it correctly.

The Time Traveler was smiling at me from the shadows. It was a small, thin, cold smile – holding no humor in it, I was sure -- but still a smile of sorts. It seemed more sad than gloating as my sudden silence stretched on.