“It’s Not Their Fault”

The cover of "Hiddeen Empire" by Orson Scott Card.

“This is a dangerous planet.  Only a politician would try to tell you otherwise.  And I’m not talking about wars–we’re America, we win our wars.  Plagues can appear out of nowhere and slaughter millions of people.  Blights can wipe out our crops.  A meteor the size of a bus could hit the earth and send us back to the Stone Age.  An extraordinary solar flare could destroy our electronics or heat our atmosphere so much our crops all die and we starve.

“And whom do we put in charge of helping us prepare to cope with such disasters?  People whose only talent is for getting elected, and whose entire future consists of the run-up to the next election.

"tt's not their fauit."

“It’s not their fault–anybody who doesn’t think and act that way won’t win.  It’s the fundamental problem with democracy.  No long-range thinking. So we’re just sitting ducks, waiting for the next disaster…”  (Emphasis added.)

This is the beginning “Hidden Empire” by Orson Scott Card, published in 2009.

I knew when I read those first two paragraphs of the paperback that I bought at so, so much off at the Crystal Lake Border’s going out of business sale that I was going to like the book.

A political book by someone who knew something about politics.

A book about a politician who made decisions in the best interest of his constituents, yet who turns out to be a bit too ruthless for the sensibilities of most of us.

And, as an added bonus, Christians are not demeaned.

Christian action in Africa is a large part of the plot.


Comments

“It’s Not Their Fault” — 1 Comment

  1. Orson Scott Card is a staunch Mormon and much of his writing contains Mormon themes and philosophies. Not that there is anything wrong with that, it just probably wouldn’t be classified as a “Christian novel.”

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