And here is something of an explanation, and an antidote, to yesterday’s ugly. David Brin writes on “Obama on the importance of Curiosity,” an essay in which he discusses the politics of our time:

If you like being part of a civilization that celebrates science and intellect and progress… while willingly negotiating in openness and improving through the reciprocal criticism of faults… then you are behooved to lift your head, this season, and note the implications in politics.

A reassuring read! Also see his response to comments, here on G+

My fantasy novel Hepen the Watcher is about the violent take-down of a misogynistic society. It’s a humorous book in parts, with what I hope are lively and likable characters. But other sections are grim, as any such book must be.

From time to time, I’ve wondered if I went too far in my depiction of the society, one that is deliberately engineered from On High to despise women and treat them as mindless yet dangerous chattel, its customs strictly enforced despite the better feelings of many men.

But there is no instance of oppression in Hepen the Watcher that hasn’t actually existed in the world with the hearty approval of authoritarian figures. Indeed, most of the goings-on in the book still exist somewhere in the world, while here in the USA it seems that every few days yet another politician — always of the Republican party — steps forward, eager to create more and more laws aimed at regulating women’s sexuality and reproduction. This, from a party with an Orwellian knack for hiding behind words like “liberty” and “freedom,” and crying out against excessive government.

Yesterday, Sunday, both twitter and facebook seemed oddly quiet until midafternoon, when word of Missouri’s Republican Congressional Representative Todd Akin hit. His asinine and ignorant comments on the biology of rape ignited a storm of utterly justified outrage. I’m sure by now you’ve heard what he had to say. If not, you’ll find Mr. Akin’s comments quoted in this essay by Ilyse Hogue at The Nation: The Danger of Laughing at Todd Akin. As Ms. Hogue makes clear, the enemy is not just this one individual who has somehow persuaded the people of Missouri — my father’s home state — to put him in a position of power. The enemy is widespread:

In the multidimensional chess that shapes public opinion, the game is less about individual elections and more about a sustained effort to mainstream radical ideas. In the case of denying women control over their lives, there’s evidence that the bad guys may be winning the long-game.

There is no justification for compromising women’s freedom, equality, and self-determination. Yield no ground. Don’t let the bad guys win.