Our experiences effect us in profound ways. Sometimes we don't see the effect for quite some time. Kurt Vonnegut Jr. experienced the horror of the fire bombing of the German city of Dresden during World War II. Some have argued that this fire bombing was worse than the nuclear bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. All of these events left questions in the minds of those who witnessed them. The questions have varied, but they center around how man can hate so much to kill and destroy so much without thinking of the death and destruction that was actually caused. Justification wasn't really the question, because the people who were effected were not the people who made the choices for which the hatred was directed. The complexity of the situation was truly felt by Vonnegut who had witnessed this horror, but the intricate details he wrote describing it communicated that horror to the wider world. But the wider world had been too euphoric in their victory over evil to understand what they had done. Vonnegut continued to ask if evil had been used to defeat evil. And, he continued to ask it in different ways as he questioned things that we all took for granted or "granite," the stone structure we use to base our cultural beliefs on.
Slaughterhouse Five was the book that Kurt Vonnegut Jr. used to show us most directly what he thought and felt about this incident. I wasn't forced to read Slaughterhouse Five in High School, I freely chose to read it. I don't think that it was my first Vonnegut book. I believe that was "Welcome to the Monkey House," which was a collection of his short stories. But after reading that I sought and read everything that he wrote. Breakfast of Champions and Cat's Cradle were certainly my High School favorites, although I liked the twisted ending in Slaughterhouse Five.
When I heard that Kurt Vonnegut Jr. had died I knew that I would need to write about his influence on me. When I went out on the web this morning I was struck by how many people were out in cyberspace doing the same thing. He would have smiled at the effect that he has surely had on so many people. Maybe some of his ideas have seeped into our culture like a virus infecting our planet. But, somehow I know that that viral infection is a positive transformative disease. And, maybe that whole concept comes indirectly from some of his insight.
While I was reading Cat's Cradle my English Teacher saw the book I was carrying and asked to borrow it. I gave it to her a few days later after I had finished it wondering what her reaction to it might be. I had disagreed with her insight into a couple of novels that she had taught up to that point. So, this was my first literary confrontation with an adult "expert" and I was ready to defend my personal taste. And, when she returned the book her only notable remark was that it was anti-science. Of course I had to disagree with her.
But, as I thought about what she had said I realized that anti-science was actually almost right. But, it really wasn't anti-science but it was against the use of science for warfare. Some people do equate science and the use of that knowledge for less noble developments. Using science to destroy life, or using science to save lives doesn't really implicate science, but the people who use the information learned from science. Unfortunately, as a young teenage reader I was unable to put that into words the way that I would have liked to. So, instead of saying something like that, I responded with, "Oh really, I didn't think so."
I really hate it when that happens, and it still bothers me to this day 30 years later. So, Kurt Vonnegut Jr. was indirectly responsible for me wanting or needing to communicate better.
These books and stories have effected me over the years. The little concept of ice-nine in Cat's Cradle pops into my brain at odd times. Ice-nine is a hypothetical crystalline form of water that freezes above room temperature. I small crystal of ice-nine when placed in water acts as a crystal "seed" causing the water molecules to align themselves in a way that all the water around the crystal would become crystalline as well. The obvious advantage of ice-nine is that the military could turn swamps into hard solid ground. Hence the ability of the military to turn a quagmire like Vietnam into a parade down Main Street USA. Of course the short sighted view of the military advantage eclipses the far reaching consequences of oceans, lakes and rivers freezing all over the world. People would need to develop a whole industry of water mining and melting to provide for the entire planet, not to mention all the lower forms of life that would die of thirst because they couldn't know that they needed to raise the temperature of the water to drink it.
I think of this when I think of crystal "seeds," or potential damage from new technology, or even when the stock market rises on the prospect of short term gains over long term health of company. This little allegory is about planning and thinking as well as the cute story that it tells. The cute story just helps one remember the more important lesson of thinking before you act. And so, Kurt Vonnegut Jr. was responsible for pushing me to look at the consequences of our actions just a little bit more.
But, maybe Kurt Vonnegut Jr.'s ideas were a little bit like the crystal ice-nine seeds that were planted in the world. The way that those who have read and reflected on what Kurt Vonnegut Jr. wrote has been effected by those ideas. The little molecules of thought in our brains have been rearranged and crystallized into something a little more solid. He has shown us in the immediate sense what should matter to us in order to make the big picture make sense. At least I know that his writing has effected my thoughts in that way.
-----------------------------------------------------
Don't forget what Stephen Colbert said, "Reality has a well-known liberal bias."
Cross Posted @ Bring It On, tblog, Blogger and BlogSpirit
__________________________
