We are still advancing and yet still in the dark. The bizarre train just keeps rolling along. We have fish face and electro-whipped prisoners. Then we have Unification Day celebration for universal approval of the Benefactor who is apparently the leader of the United State. The story is definitely going in the science fiction direction.

The first thing that caught my eye was in Record 22. This was just after the outburst from D-503 when he thought that I-330 had been captured and he was going to try and break free to save her. The doctor intervened in the situation saying that D-503 was not well and D-503 swears his allegiance to the Well Doer. There is talk about how Unification Day has some comparisons to Easter. This quote follows.

“In the ancient days the Christians understood this feeling; they are our only (though very imperfect) direct forerunners. The greatness of the ‘Church of the United Flock’ was known to them. They knew that resignation is virtue, and pride – a vice; that ‘We’ is from God and ‘I’ is from the devil.”

I think what is interesting about this is that D-503 is using this passage as justification for his behavior within the collective. When the juxtaposition is a collection of individuals acting on their own behalf. Because of that, it appears that actions of the citizens of the United State are benevolent and moral when in fact, it seems the opposite in the context of Christian thought.

What I found more relevant was the idea that elections were predetermined. There was even a comment about how in the past, indeterminate elections caused chaos. Bingo, one of the core tenants of modern political dysfunction has just been identified. Or should I say, modern philosophy.

How does capitalism flourish in modern China or Vietnam? It is all about stability, not the form of government. Stability allows foreign investment into these countries which in turn makes some rich. Those begin their own endeavors and they make more people rich. This is not something that is seen in South Sudan or Syria because no matter what the rules are, stability is far greater than how you identify your politics.

It is my argument that those that have figured out this premise are the ones that prosper the most from it. Turn the camera back to my own country and we have relative stability. This is why the truly rich and powerful don’t care which political party is running the country. The most damaging event that could possibly happen would be destabilization. Believe it or not, this is the politician game too. Don’t forget that when one person get rich, others get opportunity as well.

We have truly become a nation that values stability over freedom. Just this week, I saw the California governor arguing that citizens have a right to safety. I see safety as a proxy for for stability because it is all about limiting freedom to do so. Of course, his reference was ‘gun safety’ which certainly is taking aim at freedom. But, it could be speed limits or curfews or any other scheme that is for our own good.

Of course, our version of stability is a little messier than the United State. The ultimate case would be a society without descent which is what we have in the book. Or do we? Things are starting to show some cracks. More on that next week.

End Your Programming Routine: I’ll admit, I am getting a little lost in some of the weirdness. I am having to read things multiple times to get it. That being said, Zamyatin was exiled to France for a reason. He was dangerous to the Bolsheviks because he saw through some of their thin ploys on happiness and prosperity.