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A Privatized World

4/8/2016

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Your house has caught fire. You and your family are able to escape intact, but you hadn't been able to afford fire insurance (or, perhaps, even just the deductible for the fire truck's arrival), so all you can do now is stand outside and watch the place--everything you own, everything you've built for yourself--burn to the ground. No one is coming to help you salvage what remains.

But you will be turned into an example, a selling point for all those like you who are currently uninsured or too poor to pay the extra when their times of need actually come.

Your neighbor's home was just broken into, the woman you've known for years brutally murdered. The motive is suspiciously unclear. Her police insurance--also your police insurance--carrier's rival company sends a representative to your door, letting you know how unsuccessful your current provider was in keeping this woman safe, making promises that only end up coming across as threats--will you be next? You know at this point that the break-in was staged by none other than the rival insurance company. Business has been slow, and they're looking to scare a few people into switching over to their company.

Outbreaks of deadly, antibiotic-resistance diseases have been reported in all of the less expensive elementary schools--which are ridiculously pricey in their own right. Your son will be attending kindergarten this year, and you can't afford any of the higher-priced schools. Do you take a chance on the only school you can afford, knowing you might be putting your child in mortal danger?

What choice do you have? All of these services have become fully privatized, and there are no programs to help offset the costs. Either you have the money or you don't.

And if you go into criminal debt over any of these costs, you will suffer the consequences: a debtors prison sentence to work off what you owe. You'll probably lose your job  while you're away, which means you'll probably also lose your home. It's against the law to be homeless, though--against the law to be a non-contributing member of society. Against the law to be in need. So, of course, back to prison you'll probably go.

There's been a lot of buzz lately about privatization versus socialism. Both have their merits and flaws, but rhetoric has trumped the realities behind both. Privatization means increased corporate power. If you have a decent amount of capital to your name, this absolutely works in your favor. Social democracy means higher taxes but more money put into social services (such as those I described above). If you belong to the middle or lower classes, your survival depends on many of these services remaining in the public sector.

With the upcoming election drawing ever nearer, these are issues we need to have some serious dialogues about. We cannot ignore their importance. So let's bring up these issues to friends, family, and peers. Let's argue the pros and cons. Let's think about what's important to us as a nation and take a stance. Let's do it without resorting to low blows, name calling, or rhetorical memes. Let's discuss these important issues like adults, and if need be, let's talk about what changes need to be made to our system.

Then, let's work together to fight for those changes.

I wrote The Private Sector as my way of contributing to the dialogue. It's the perfect conversation starter. Read it. Share it with your friends and family. Talk about the issues and how they relate to the current state of the nation. It is our responsibility as Americans to be involved in the directions our country takes. Let's be involved together.

Let's think. Let's talk. Let's bring the American dream back within the reach of all its citizens. We can make a difference. You can make a difference.
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The Private Sector is currently available on Kindle here.
Click here for Paperback.
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Win a Copy of AFTERMATH

11/21/2015

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Between now and December 20, go to Goodreads to enter for a chance to win a copy of my recent release, Aftermath: Beyond World-Mart.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Aftermath by Leigh M. Lane

Aftermath

by Leigh M. Lane

Giveaway ends December 20, 2015.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway
Aftermath picks up right where World-Mart left off, beginning with the end of civilization. Readers who enjoyed World-Mart, Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle, Orwell's 1984, and Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 will enjoy this last installment of the World-Mart trilogy. Thanks for entering--and good luck!
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Too Bad, So Sad

6/9/2013

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I’ve touched upon this before, and with mixed response, but I must have another word on the subject.  It never ceases to surprise me when a reader somehow feels cheated when finishing a dystopian novel that ends on a less-than-happy note.  I understand that genres evolve to a certain extent, but to base one’s dystopian rubric on what one experiences in reading, say, The Hunger Games, is faulty to say the very least.  Let’s take a look at a few of the most influential classics, the dystopias that truly define the genre:

Planet of the Apes: Ulysse escapes Soror with his primitive lover and child, offering the readers hope that all will be well, only to return home to find Earth has become the same hell he escaped.  The couple in space who had the message in a bottle—again, hope for the human race—only end up throwing another disturbing monkey wrench into the works (yes, pun fully intended).  

The point: Apes merely “ape,” and everything the readers see in the ape society represents humanity’s progress put eternally on hold; we only hold ourselves back, and when we fail to reach our potential, society as a whole pays for our failings.

1984: Lovers Winston and Julia are discovered together by the Thought Police and are taken to the Ministry of Love for torturous, brainwashing “re-education.”  They both betray one another during interrogation, and then suffer their greatest fears in Room 101, Winston nearly having his face chewed to ribbons by rats before having the horror differed instead onto Julia.  Their love dissolves—actually transforms into contempt—as a result of their experiences, and both re-enter society as selfless drones who live to serve and love “Big Brother.”

The point: If we submit to group thought, essentially allowing others to think for us, and do not exercise our rights as individual human beings, we will lose all that makes humanity so exceptional and diverse.

Cat’s Cradle: Ice-nine, a frozen chemical that turns all liquid it comes into contact with into more ice-nine (which stays frozen even in high temperatures), falls into the ocean via the crash of a plane containing the frozen body of a dictator who had committed suicide by ingesting the chemical, and all of the oceans in the world freeze over, ensuring the extinction of virtually all life on the planet.

The point: The most selfish and ignorant of humankind will be the downfall of us all.

My point: There is a reason many of my works end in tragedy, and sometimes it takes a little brainpower to figure out why.  I know some people read to escape and some people read to think, but those in need of escapism have no place picking up the good majority of dystopian works.  When I read reviews that show contempt for the dark ending in my dystopia, all I can think of is, You obviously have not read enough to know what you’re talking about.  Go back to your YA dystopia, the sugar-coated kind, and leave the real literature to the big kids.  And, should you decide to pick up a novel that follows the classic dystopian trope, don’t complain if you leave without that warm and fuzzy feeling.  It’s meant to stimulate your brain, not fulfill your escapist needs.

It's blunt and it's not nice, but it's also true.
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Why THE TWILIGHT ZONE is the Best TV Show of All Time

1/2/2013

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I spent my New Year’s Day watching SyFy’s annual marathon of The Twilight Zone, enjoying the revisit of my favorite episodes and taking great joy in remembering forgotten details.  As I watched, I tried to think of other television shows that have compared, and although there have been some exceptional series over the past fifty-some-odd years, none have quite captured that same level of innovation and brilliance.  Even now, watching my favorite of the show’s intros gives me a delightful shiver.
The following are the main three reasons why I believe The Twilight Zone is the best television show of all time:

Rod Serling

All of my regular readers know what a strong influence I feel Rod Serling has been on my own writing.  He is, without a doubt, one of the most innovative writers of his time.  One of the main reasons The Twilight Zone was so exceptional was that Serling had such a strong influence on the series.  He wrote many of the episodes, his careful use of language and imagery often resulting in a breathtaking effect.  His use of symbolism might not always have been subtle, but it was always provocative.  His dialog was realistic and profound, and his commentary so poignant that it might be considered timely in nearly every generation.  His themes often revolved around the value of human life, and how different individuals or groups might lose sight of that value in the name of money, power, changing social mores, and/or technological advancement.

Backbone

The Twilight Zone took chances on social and political issues that even now some might consider daring.  The series represented speculative fiction in its purest form, using elements of sci-fi, fantasy, and horror, to make statements about the world and the people living in it.  In effect, the show used its suspension of reality to say something important about the realest of issues.  Other shows have done this as well, most recently the Fox sci-fi drama Fringe and AMC’s The Walking Dead, but none have done it quite as skillfully.

Unpredictability

While there are a great number of episodes in which the outcome might be somewhat predictable, one who has never seen the series would never be able to predict what might happen from one episode to the next.  The series spanned from lighthearted to downright horrifying, each episode unique and with its own individual offering of commentary and social analysis.  Moreover, while some of the twists used throughout the show might seem clichéd in terms of modern television or literature, most were groundbreaking during their time.

I wonder what the generations beyond mine think about the original black and white series—and if they are even willing to give a chance to a show they might consider too outdated to be enjoyable.  The thought that The Twilight Zone might ever be considered outdated, regardless of its basic special effects and forgotten actors, sends chills up my spine.  Although many have attempted to emulate—even revise and recreate—this brilliant classic television series, there will never be another show quite like it.

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