Just finished reading Empire
The American Empire has grown too fast, and the fault lines at home are stressed to the breaking point. The war of words between Right and Left has collapsed into a shooting war, though most people just want to be left alone.
I first heard about Empire while listening to an InstaPodcast interview with Orson Scott Card. Not to be confused with the tin foil hat crowd, the idea of another American civil war is something I have considered as a possibility, and I have mentioned this scenario in conversations with Pete in the past. Based on the current polarization of the country, the whole red state – blue state metaphor, I could imagine either an individual or a group convincing either side that the only way to prevail is through violence. This instigator could either be a homegrown American, or someone supported by a country (or countries) that would like to see the US self-destruct.
In the interview, Card’s comment that people don’t willing become involved in civil wars until they find themselves in the middle and having to take sides was sobering.
I have read some folks characterize the book as FoxNews science fiction, because many of the central characters are members of the military and possess conservative values. While this generalization may be true, someone in the book had to be the bad guy. Perhaps this creates an opportunity for someone to write the CNN version where the good guys are sympathetic to a more liberal ideology.
Reviewing Card’s political ideology on Wikipedia, it is also easy to understand why he is so frustrated with the sharp polarization currently found in the US. The current climate makes it difficult for a person who agrees with 90% of a party’s platform. His views on several “passion issues” place him all over the political map. He is a Democrat, but supported Bush in 2004.
The book is a fast read. Because it is science fiction it contains some elements that might seem implausible based on the technology we are currently familiar with. This is probably a good thing, as it prevents the reader from becoming too paranoid that civil war is inevitable.