Fiction
In the project I'm working on now (working title Judas in Hell), one character points to a book someone is reading and says . “I just don’t see how you take something like that seriously. Like horror stories. They’re just not real.” The person reading the book replies “No, they’re fiction, the definition of which is ‘made up.’”
With Halloween approaching, it's time to consider the wonder of horror fiction. I'm not a fan of slasher fiction; just killing people off is too close to real life to be entertaining. I think fiction can explore violence, but I wish writers were more discriminant about how they portray violence. I don't like when the protagonist becomes intimate with another character and then discovers that person is the villain and then has to 'take them out.' Intimate partner violence doesn't get a pass because the victim has done something terrible; we have laws to deal with that. (If that sounds woke - good.)
The best horror explores humanity, being and faith. As the world grows increasingly secular, it limits the power of these narratives. The story can still be a great read, but it does not haunt the reader the way it would have generations ago. As a storyteller, I want to devastate you. I want you to be thinking about my book months after you finish it.
Good fiction, even when entirely divorced from reality, has a strong relationship with truth. Unfortunately, this fall, our political landscape seems to be entirely unmoored from any notion of truth. It's not even fair to say this season of campaign ads are fiction. Too many of them are outright lies. Provable lies. The worst are driven by PACs 'unrelated' to the candidates (another lie.) Do the campaigns really think these ads move anyone's opinion, or do they just want to torture us for months?
The only programming I watch with commercials any longer are sports and the news. I never thought that I could miss ads for pickup trucks and laxatives, but I do! I sat through a commercial break that was seven political ads back-to-back for two candidates. I think the point is to make people give up. We need a button that we can push that says "I already voted" that would stop all the ads. If it existed, I bet the percentage of adults that actually vote would skyrocket.
I support a constitutional amendment to overturn the Citizen's United, McCutcheon and National Republican Senatorial Commitee Supreme Court decisions that allow those with money to have more access to political speech than those without. There is no equality in a nation in which your wealth allows you to control the narrative. Billion-dollar campaigns need to be eliminated. Corporate speech should not be more powerful than individual speech. We need to stop supporting candidates that align with messaging that belittles and demonizes people.
We cannot abide cruelty, so don't. Offer your support to someone today who needs it. Donate blood (I recently hit the 19-gallon mark!). Do something to lift your community up and resist the temptation to tear others down.
To read past blog posts or learn about my novels, go to www.jeffersonblackburnsmith.com
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