thePOLITICALanimal
wpb Interviews John about his Libertarian politics.
Libertarians are not a work of fiction. If you've read
St. Jude's Gospel, you understand the prominent role the Libertarian Party and its philosophy of government play in the story some have called "the best Libertarian novel since
Atlas Shrugged," but what about in the author's life?
J: Are you saying I wear my politics on my sleeve? (Pause. Smile.) Ya think?
w: Ok. So, is
St. Jude Libertarian propaganda?
J: No more than it's Catholic propaganda. There's a very strong Catholic theme in the story as well, but
that doesn't make it doctrinaire either. It's no secret that my novels are autobiographical on various levels. At the point that I was writing St. Jude, I had come into my own as a Catholic and as a Libertarian. Therefore one of my protagonists was deeply involved in both, and another was converted to both. So I guess you could say it's a story with sectarian content, not sectarian content in the form of a story.
w: What's the difference?
J: When you set out to tell a story, the story takes on a life of its own. If certain themes emerge, if certain characters have certain beliefs, if certain things happen in the plot as a result of those beliefs, it is all part of the story. It would be disingenuous to sterilize the story of any detail related to the character's beliefs, just as it would be disingenuous to try to write a story simply for the purpose of advancing one's beliefs. So if the content fits the story, flows from the story, the plot, the characters naturally so that no one feels as if they're being preached to, then it's done the right way-- the only way a serious writer would treat such content.
w: Well, intended or not, it still seems that you the story makes a strong Libertarian point.
J: Yes, the story does. Naturally. Not the author, with any contrivance.
w: That being said, your involvement in the Libertarian Party is a central theme in your life. Fair enough?
J: Absolutely, and not just the party, but the movement. But yes, definitely the party, because the movement won't have enough of an impact on the way we do government in this country unless it has its own party as the guardian of the cause.
w: Is it fair to say you haven't written much lately except for the "cause of liberty," as you would say?
J: Yes, that would be completely fair, because it's a Presidential election year, and like my protagonist in St. Jude, Will Motley, I get the itch every four years. Part of me wishes I were the candidate. I get so frustrated wtih what's being said during the campaign, with the fact that nobody really gets it, so I really feel the need to speak out. This year I've finally discovered how on a primitive level at least, how to leverage the internet as a medium for writing and for ideas, and that's what I'm doing.
w: We're just about out of time, but what do you mean by "getting it?"
J: If you allow yourself to think outside of the political box there are so many simple solutions to the problems our nation is stuck on today. The whole country's drowning in a glass of water, as my wife would say, because people don't get it. At the risk of being trite we're all like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, putting ourselves through all kinds of ordeals trying to get home the only way we know until finally someone tells us we had the means to get home all along, very easily. That's the way I feel about our country. A few of us know about the power of the Ruby Slippers to save us, but most people are like the witch's guards, marching in lockstep, droning along (and now I'm going to mix a metaphor within a metaphor so be forewarned) completely unaware that the witch they disdainfully serve out of fear can be vaporized with a mop-bucket full of water.
w: So what are the Ruby Slippers or the mop bucket in political terms in twenty-first century America?
J: That's a question better answered at my political site, so here's another shameless plug:.
www.LibertarianPlace.com.
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