Thanksgiving and the Brave New World
I watched a family of tiny cockroaches come out of the woodwork in my bathroom last night. They were thankful for the moisture in the baseboard next to the shower as they danced and delighted in the feast.
I used those same words, “out of the woodwork,” as the phone kept ringing this week, with friends and family calling to find out how my father-in-law was doing in the hospital. And on my own side, we had the largest Thanksgiving gathering ever, welcoming my grandfather and his new fiance, a beloved uncle, an extra nephew and a family friend.
In the year 2540, only cockroaches and savages care about family. In his disillusionment about living in The World State, the main character Barnard takes a trip to a small reservation in what once was New Mexico, where people still celebrate their culture and mourn their dead. They quote Shakespeare because art and literature are not forbidden.
Savages, all.