Friday, March 24, 2017

Tomorrow's Map, Today

5 comments:

Steven Satak said...

See, this is baloney. No way that amount of the West would fall to the Islamists. They would be erased by the descendants of the pioneers, who have had to live pretty darn close to nature for a long time.

Second, the Islamists would never form a republic of any sort. A Caliphate, sure. But it would be religious in nature, and would care nothing for what the world thought of it unless it was fear.

What is this map based on?

Steven Satak said...

Okay, the map is from a book called "Prayers for the Assassin".

The series posits an alternative future. Its appearance requires that most of the people in the USA convert to Islam, willy-nilly, because Shania Twain told them to.

I dunno. No, I take that back. I *DO* know. The author followed this with two more such books. I think his last published work was in 2009. The problem with this is that, while you can set it up, keeping it running for more than a couple books is hard. Time has to pass. And a lot of the things the author insists on, are mutually exclusive. He knows a lot of details about how people behave, and Islam, but not about history. Nor does he take into account that there are a lot of little rotten - as well as good - people in the world. For example, he proposes something called 'moderate Islam'. But there IS no such thing. The Koran says what it says. And there is no wiggle room. You are either either following Islam or you are an infidel or about to become one.

It's a lot like 1984. Good for a single setting, but past a book or two and the whole fictional world just stops making sense. It gets in its own way. I think maybe that's why there are no more books after the trilogy that use this setting.

This map, and the setting associated with it, are ugly to contemplate, like Hitler winning WWII. But a serious consideration of the things that would have to be different for this to come off? Immediately run the idea off the rails.

I learned something of the writing of 'alternate history' from a book called "If the Allies had Fallen".

Something like this would only appeal to the Left, who would use it for their typical attempts to perpetuate a State of Fear (theocracy).

Stan said...

Hm. Very interesting. Thanks for the perspective.

Kirk said...

Theocracy from the Left!? How out of touch can one be? Isn't this blog against Atheism anyway? Now it's the Left that's for a Theocracy? What the heck guys... Nobody wants to have Islam take over the USA, not even most Muslims living here! They have serious problems within their ranks with large portions being extremists in favor of things like Sharia Law, but claiming that the Left, the more secular, more Atheistic Left is for a Theocracy is insane. Who does want a Theocracy? People like Pence, our dear VP, or Ted Cruz, or Marc Rubio, you know, the crackpots on the Right who think that the hand of God is everywhere, that we have to follow THEIR religion, or else... this is so bizarre. You guys are all over the place. Completely inconsistent, irrational and devoid of any argumentation.

Steven Satak said...

As has become common, you did not read what I wrote, Kirk.

I wrote that the Left promotes a state of fear (fear of a right-wing theocracy). This map and the trilogy might be used to further their aims.

Of course, the real threat of theocracy comes from Islam, but as Islam wishes the same thing as the Left - the destruction of the West - it's not likely you will see this brought up as a live option by the Left.