The Snake Oil Wars

                                                                  

The sequel to Waiting for the Galactic Bus, this 1989 novel is, sadly, even more relevant today. Darkly humorous, it's also a warning and a philosophic manifesto. 

Consider the dedication: "To those lucid and courageous minds who gave you the Inquisition, the Salem witch trials, Falwell, Robertson, and the God-Inspired Rule of the Righteous. To those intrepid souls who fight with unflagging zeal to remove from libraries dangerous books they have not read and from theaters those spiritually toxic films they have not seen, believing that thought is a controlled substance and secular thinking hazardous to mental health."

Thirty-five years later, they're still at it. Today's terrifying watchword is Christian Nationalism. These fundamentalists dream of a USA under the banner of Jesus, with laws based on the Word of God--and they are the ones who'll tell you just what that Word means.

We already see how MAGA eschews 'Woke Jesus,' in favor of Gun-toting, Kickass (or Republican) Jesus. Theirs is not a world I want to live in, any more than I would want to live under Sharia law or under a Dear Leader (the former guy's wet dream) as in North Korea.

Why the Snake Oil Wars? Because the novel's premise is that mankind creates religion and then relies on it to "fix" everything with thoughts and prayers. Just like Snake Oil.

                         

                                                                                    

Waiting for the Galactic Bus

 

                                                                                 

  

Once again embarked on cleaning, de-accessioning, and generally bringing order to long-overlooked parts of the house, I've moved on to my workroom. Oh, boy, what a challenge! All my various past enthusiasms have left their clutter--lots of writing, painting, quilting, sewing, and other craft stuff to deal with, including an embarrassing number of unfinished items.

As I began clearing away odds and ends that had accumulated on my cutting table, I came across a book that I didn't remember and premised that perhaps it had been intended as a gift for someone. 

Nope, it was a book Mario and Jayna recommended to me back in 2015. And I bought it and read it and, if my blog post is to be believed, really enjoyed it.

I said:

The premise is that two teenagers from a very long-lived alien race were stranded on Earth at a time when apes were the most advanced form of life. The teens experimented with giving the primates a bit of a push (a la SPACE ODYSSEY 2001.)  

As time passed and the primates evolved, the two aliens came to be regarded as gods  . . . and when, much, much later, an anguished St. Augustine realizes the truth and asks what remains, if his beliefs are based on a mistake, he is told:

 "A great deal remains, you relentless man . . . that splendid mind I gave you. Though it's very like building a magnificent car for someone who obstinately refuses to learn to drive."

Waiting for the Galactic Bus is a wonderful, thought-provoking romp through time, history, theology, and philosophy!

With a glowing review like that, I had to read it (again.) And I'm enjoying it all over again. And finding it fearfully pertinent to 2024. 

Of Books and Book Pushers

I've been accused of being a book pusher -- but when I read a book and really enjoy it, I just have to tell folks about it, And there are often great suggestions for further reading in the comments.

Sometimes books are thrust upon me  recommended by Facebook friends -- Jayna and Mario suggested that I might enjoy Waiting for the Galactic Bus and, oh, I did, I did!

The premise is that two teenagers from a very long-lived alien race were stranded on Earth at a time when apes were the most advanced form of life. The teens experimented with giving the primates a bit of a push (a la SPACE ODYSSEY 2001.)  

As time passed and the primates evolved, the two aliens came to be regarded as gods  . . . and when, much, much later, an anguished St. Augustine realizes the truth and asks what remains, if his beliefs are based on a mistake, he is told:

 "A great deal remains, you relentless man . . . that splendid mind I gave you. Though it's very like building a magnificent car for someone who obstinately refuses to learn to drive."

Waiting for the Galactic Bus is a wonderful, thought-provoking romp through time, history, theology, and philosophy!

Vicki Van V. is another of those Facebook book pushers. We share an enthusiasm for the novels of Laurie R. King and Vicki suggested I take a look at one of LRK's early works, published under a different name.  Califia's Daughters is a dystopian novel, set in a future California where a virus has killed off most men, triggering a role reversal in which women are the warriors and men are more or less relegated to harems.

Richly imagined and full of sly detail, the book kept me reading. (The main character is an extremely likeable warrior woman with a pair of Irish Wolfhound type giant dogs.) The different communities that struggle to survive are a wise look at society's varied ways of responding to disaster. The ending came too soon and seemed to beg for a sequel -- but there isn't one, alas.

As a bonus, I learned about Califia  (or Calafia)-- a warrior queen in a Spanish novel written around 1500. There is an interesting account HERE of how this novel was ultimately the source of the  name California for the state.