With the close-call election and the fairly even split in this country on politics, does anyone know Ray's politics? By that I don't necessarily mean his "party".

I don't recall reading much about his theory of government, and don't remember, off-hand, seeing much that gives a lot away in his stories/novels.

He's obviously anti-censorship, so we'd presume -- at least in some areas -- a focus on political and intellectual freedom.

Does he support an interventionist government? Is he more libertarian? Does he support the idea that government is here to solve problems? Is it here to get out of the way and let citizens solve their own problems?

I don't remember, in my reading, being able to discern much in this area. Does anyone know?

What is his theory of government?

I have read (his) comments that indicate he is pro-G W Bush, but I will not venture to analyze his philosophies on politics. (You know - religion, finances, and politics!!)
However, here is an older interview that does offer some light on the subject:
SEE: http://members.tripod.com/more_couteau/bradbury.htm

(It is a long article and may take some gleaning to get what you are looking for.)

Also, the ending of Sound of Thunder & the 2000 election's "who is the winner?" scenario is too ironic to figure. Only Mr. B. gets it right so often - as history proves.




[This message has been edited by fjpalumbo (edited 11-07-2002).]

That is an intersting interview. Now what can I glean from it?

Private enterprise is where true growth will occur. The government can't really be trusted and is incompetent and ingnorant. The exception seems to be in the areas of foreign policy (where we oppose totalitarian whereever it is and whatever face it wears -- left wing OR right wing totalitarianism). They both have the same result, which is the supression of thought and the soul and the destruction of freedom. The other area government seems to do well in is the space program. He definitely wants a full investment in that.

City planning should not be a government function -- it should be a combination of business (this was ten years ago, there may not be the same trust in corporate America he was able to entertain -- but I can't speak for him on this) and local citizens.

The real profit motive is to make money, so businesses learn to do things that work. For government, since it doesn't generate revenue, it collects it and spends it, there is no real profit incentive. Therefore it doesn't seem to learn and it does not always act pragmatically (this last sentence is my own interpretation of what I think he is saying.).

Bradbury clearly opposes raising taxes and thinks as much money as possible should remain in private hands.

He clearly was a fan of Reagan -- both for the fall of Soviet Russia and the undercutting of left wing totalitarianism, and for reducing taxes and changing the focus of our discourse as a nation in terms of the role of government. HIs comment on Reagan in this interview was, "He'll probably go down in history as the most important president of the century."

But he is clearly opposed to totalitarianism from either the right or the left. The suppression of ideas is a great evil that can't be accepted -- no matter where it comes from.

Mr. Dark, nice analysis. The comment on govt. and "space exploration" is a sore spot according to some of the interviews he has given. He has stated that we are way off base with the direction in which things are going.

Rather than going around and around the planet Earth, he unconditionally supports (as his writing reflects) going out and away from the planet. How long will it take us to get to Mars if we have no base on the moon from which to station - if that is the way it is to be done?!

Interestingly, a news item last week gave a glimpse into the Chinese space program. They are on their way to the moon in the coming years (if all goes according to plan). We went, left a few piles of debris behind, and have since down what?

This is not to sell NASA completely short, mind you! Hubble is a magnificent accomplishment. The astronauts from all around the world who navigate the shuttles and develop the space station are very skilled and true pioneers. (Has anyone seen the IMAX - "Space Station"? Wow!!)

Much will come from their work and research on the space station (materials, medicines, data on the environment, etc.). However, does anyone administering the program have a vision like the one set down by Pres. Kennedy's "to the moon in the next decade" speech? I'd be interested in reading a program statement that outlines what they intend to accomplish in the next decade or two. (Please list if known.)

As a kid, I can remember our lessons in school being put on hold as we gathered around the tv (often shared between 2 or 3 classrooms) to watch the rockets take off. Now few of my students even know that the shuttles are going up and coming down nor that a station is being completed. It is a part of our country's progress (the world's for that matter) that should hold the keenest fascination for all ages.

Or have blast offs become so common place, they take a back seat to all of the gadgets and technical distractions we have at our finger tips?

I hope not! I have witnessed a few missions departing from and returning to the Space Center. Each offers a thrill of a life time!

This may be why RB's tales remain my favorites - imagination! The collection of essays "Yestermorrow" is a great read for more on what Mr. Dark has so thoroughly pulled from the site location posted above.


[This message has been edited by fjpalumbo (edited 11-20-2002).]

I agree on the space program. Other than the pragmatic reality that many IS, IT and medical breakthroughs are the result of knowledge gained in the space program, it moves us forward as a species and creates a sense of wonder and a unifying sense of purpose.

I love the Shuttles. I like the line in the movie Apollo 13 (A great movie, my daughter and I just saw again at the IMAX in Dallas) where the Tom Hanks character says, "Believe me, there's nothing routine about a launch."

I also love the Hubble telescope. The images we're getting back from that are absolutely gorgeous. I have also loved the probes they have sent out over the years where we gather data and shoot hundreds and hundreds of photos.

When the Jupiter probe was sending in it's data, I lived out in Pasadena. A good friend was doing a PhD in Interplanetary Geography, and he would take me in to JPL and the Cal Tech labs and would explain the photos to me as they came in from the probe. It was amazing.

I am very exited about the International Space Station (ISS). I go out on the net to check out all the pictures of the progress on that work.

I would also like to see a goal set of creating a habitation on the moon. The intent would be the advance of scientific knowledge and technical capability, of course; but it would also be a stepping-stone to Mars (" . . . and beyond", to quote a true space explorer, Buzz LightYear).

Nard Kordell posted this link some time ago:
http://www.uctv.tv/library-human.asp?summary=show

At the bottom of the list, click on the link to "Writer's Symposium By The Sea"; there are two recent interviews with Ray that touch on your questions.

My local PBS station just ran a biography of Lon Chaney, with Ray giving some comments. He looked pretty good, and you could feel his enthusiasm.

Thanks for reposting this site.

I have gone out and watched both videos. One is a lecture (mostly on writing), the other is a conversation (about religion, space, the origins of the short story, "The Lake", his passion for the landing on the moon (spent the whole night crying).

At our church (when the moon landing was all live), our Bishop was so excited, he put a television in the gym of the building and we had church there that day -- watching the landing. It goes to one of the things Ray said about religion -- it is a sense of wonder. The Universe is there for us to appreciate. We are to witness and celebrate the miraculous.

Mr. Dark,

Thanks for bringing up a timely topic and for your astute analysis. Based on my reading of Yestermorrow and several other interviews, I'd have to agree with you on Ray's political views. Shouldn't be surprising but some might find it so since most artists tend to be looked at as liberal in their views.

One interesting area that might somehow relate to his political views and that Ray briefly touched on in his Playboy interview was the way crime had touched his daughters. He begged off of this particular topic because of his feelings about it and I've never seen it mentioned again.

Has anyone else heard/read about these crime incidents with his daughters. I find it odd how other major occurrences in his life (i.e. the witnessing of the automobile crash) have found their way into Ray's fiction but this area seems to have not.

Pete

PS
Mr. Dark,

Since you saw Apollo 13 at the IMAX in Dallas, we might be neighbors. I'm in Oklahoma.

Mr. Dark and all,
You might have read this interview, but in light of your question, I thought I'd post a section and the link.http://readtogether.palmbeachpost.com/q_and_a.html

Q: What were your politics at the time you wrote Fahrenheit 451?

B: Oh, beginning to be middle of the road. I don't like politics, don't like knee-jerk Democrats or knee-jerk Republicans. True believers are the real danger to the world, because they're convinced they know everything and they're willing to kill you to prove it. I want to be in the middle of the road and make the parties beg for my vote.

Pterran: In McKinney, halfway between Dallas and the Oklahoma southern border.

Mr. Dark,

What a delightful surprise! Feel free to e-mail offline anytime.

Pete

Not having time to look through all the old interviews, I'll just post a few things which stuck in my mind over the years:
Donn Albright once quoted Ray as saying, "We were all very liberal," implying he started out quite liberal and became more conservative.
I totally agree with all you said on the space program. He was on a talk show once with Irish activist Bernadette Devlin, who talked as if she thought all funds should be sent to the North of Ireland, not "wasted" on space research. Ray flatly stated in her presence, "This girl is an idiot."
In an interview given during the Cold War he said all politics was a manure field but at least our manure got turned over on a regular basis.
In another interview he stated his extreme opposition to Lyndon Johnson. He was active in some group opposing Johnson, who he felt brought us closer to nuclear war than any other president.
He has been quite involved in city planning, notably architecture (he is very against every place looking alike and believes in unique community flavor) and public transportation, of which there is a noted lack in his area of Los Angeles, leading to every idiot going out in their own vehicle causing mayhem.
I'd be very interested in the crime issues but can't make any contribution on that.