[BNW] BNW intersects with reality...

[Mark Kilfoil <kilfoilm@nbnet.nb.ca>]

At 07:11 AM 16/09/01 -0700, you wrote:
>The editorial was written by a Canadian for Canadians.
>Remeber that before you start bashing American and
>Americans for it.

I know I haven't posted for a while, and I hate it to be this which brings 
me back to the list, but...

A little clarification is in order:  this article was written in 1973 
(Gordon Sinclair died in 1984, I believe).

The world was a much different place back then, and thus the article should 
be taken with buckets of salt;  so much has changed in the intervening 30 
years that much of what was written no longer holds true.

Now, I do not wish this to be an attack on Americans, or American ideals, 
or American culture;  America is a very powerful, very influential, very 
forward nation that has a lot for which to commend itself.  What happened 
in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania was a tragedy, in every sense of 
that word.

America must not simply be self-congratulatory and feel itself to be a 
totally innocent victim on the same level that the individuals who perished 
were;  America is not perfect, and has not treated the rest of the world 
with the respect that they expect for themselves.

But, many parts of the world and religious/military organization have not 
earned that right of respect.  I only hope that a large brush will not be 
used to paint all of the world in broader, darker strokes than is 
justified, when the final battles are fought, and retaliation is complete.

To turn this (briefly) to a game-setting angle:  imagine what the Defiance 
feels every time Delta Prime casts them all as "terrorists", when many of 
them are fighting for freedom from oppression and an oppressive 
society;  then, imagine what both the Defiance and Delta Primers feel when 
some unstable or militant individual or small group does something terrible 
and almost unspeakable such as what happened at the WTC.  Neither side 
feels happy, and each side is blamed.

I've always felt a deep resonance with the Brave New World setting, because 
it brings so many of these fearful issues into a nearly tangible game 
universe, with themes such as oppression, terrorism, a "civil" war, fear, 
and uncertainty, as well as mixed with the potential to be a real Hero -- 
or a nightmarish Monster.

I mean, imagine living in a world where some individuals are themselves a 
Bomb?  This idea alone serves to be a frightening prospect for the 
setting.  Now, add in the fact that they do not die themselves when they 
explode, but regenerate to do it again...  This is truly disturbing.

As it should be.  It is by facing these issues and playing through them 
that roleplayers might expand their mentalities and moralities, and become 
more considerate of others' points of view.

If only roleplaying were universal...

encaf1

Saving the world one COFFEE at a time...
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