"How does this change what I write in Judas Christ?"
"Change, nothing stays the same... Unchained, and ya hit the ground running" - Van Halen
The most obvious answer is "it shouldn't 'change' ;-) anything." I hope that this work will continue to be read far enough into the future that making it "timely" is self-defeating. If my 18 year writing journey thus far has taught me anything, it's that technology makes a poor character. Anything you commit to paper will be overrun or obsoleted before the manuscript hits the shelves. So don't do it. I know better. I learned from The Professor. "Knows changes are permanent, but change is." -- Rush
Sic Semper Politics
The same is true of politics. But in ways I have no idea how, this election will alter how the US interacts with the Middle East, and that is pivotal in my novel. So I have to consider it. As I wrote in the early aughts, considering how the Bush Administration would have handled a rising Islamic Federation put shivers in my spine. I honestly have no idea what to expect from Obama. He could be more moderate, or based on his rhetoric regarding Iran, could react in ways contrary to why people voted for him.
The enemy of my enemy is my friend
One thing I can expect is a different view of America by Islam. I work with people who lived and work on the ground in Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia. Dubya was NOT viewed as the Great Liberator. Perhaps Syria's Bashar al-Assad, and Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will be able to look past the Bush eras and forget their grudges. Or maybe not:
So, too was Mr. Ahmadinejad's appearance in September at the United Nations General Assembly, when he said a prayer calling for the Mahdi's return: "O mighty Lord, I pray to hasten the emergence of ... the promised one .... the one who will fill this world with justice and peace."
Belief in the Mahdi energizes many of the 8 million to 10 million pilgrims who come annually to Qom, the seminary city that is considered among Iran's most holy places. The Jamkaran Mosque is just outside Qom, which is two hours south of Tehran.
"A prayer in the Jamkaran Mosque is almost like going to Mecca," Adel Safr, a cleric with the Qom mosque's international department, said. Visiting the shrine, he said, was "a reaffirmation to say to him that we are still with you -- we came because we believe the Mahdi is caring and that he is going to cleanse the world of injustice and corruption."
To Mr. Safr, a 34-year-old who has been studying in Qom for four years, the troubles that have racked the Persian Gulf region in recent years could be portents of the Mahdi's return.
Just as some Christians see warfare in the Middle East as reflections of Biblical prophecy, some in Iran see a religious pattern in recent events.
The destruction of an important Shiite shrine in Samarra, Iraq, the Mahdi's birthplace and where he went into hiding, and the sectarian violence in that country are seen as fulfillments of prophecies.
"This is why Mr. Bush has put divisions in Saudi Arabia and Iraq -- to kill the Mahdi and make Jesus the messiah," Mr. Safr said. "I am serious. There have been speeches in the Pentagon about it."
If the Islamic nations, as well as the Islamic people can shrug off the last 8 years, and the Gulf Wars I & II as failed policies of a part of a fallen dynasty, then perhaps they will be able to deal with America in "normalized" relationships. There is plenty of historical precedent. America forgot Breshnev and Andropov when Gorbachev rose to power. Today, 11/11/08, on the 90th Anniversary of Armistice Day, British, French and German leaders stood side by side, saluting their respective fallen. Perhaps, Islam will embrace Obama has their American Mahdi who delivered them from Bush/Cheney/McCain/Palin. Perhaps Ahmadinejad will overthrow Khomeini's perception of America as the Great Satan, even as Obama overturns Bush policies? Of course, in my novel, this will be a mask for their real plans. But that's just fiction.
Whatever happens in real life, I will have to look a little into the future to write fiction. I can't utterly ignore this "change", but I can overtly sidestep it. The very least, I'm inclined to have an American President who is inclined to "under react" rather than overreact. And trust me, there is something to which a president will have to react. And as they say, "he who hesitates..."
No comments:
Post a Comment