Battle Flag of the Three Percent
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Battle Flag of the Three Percent |
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March
09, 2009 Mark Spungin (with the assistance of wife Beverly) has now provided their answer to that question of Claire's, in writing. His fictional (or quasi-fictional) characters living in Wyoming answer that question at some unknown time between 2009 and 2016. And it is a good answer, a realistic answer, and an answer that is perhaps all too plausible. The Spungins are a military family: both retired from the Wyoming Army National Guard. Their knowledge and experience is reflected in the book. They are people-type folks, and again, that is reflected in their writing. A serious shortcoming of much libertarian fiction, even by friends, is a lack of characterization equal to that of the gold-standard of modern science fiction and fantasy - and even mainstream fiction. Mark does much better at this than other writers who have produced timely and needed liberty novels - although he is still far short of the Grand Master, L. Neil Smith. For a first novel, it is great! The Spungins obviously know the setting: their Wyoming lives and breathes - indeed, it might be considered a character in the book. There is a certain feel of a Louis L'Amour novel to it, and more than just the beautiful cover of the trade paperback. And it is more than terrain, including the imaginary counties (well, thinly disguised counties) and the flatly named counties and locales; they know the political and human landscape as well. Be warned, it is as violent and profane a book as a Patton campaign - the language is raw and the blood flows. (One disappointment to me personally is that many of the people I'd like to share this book with will not read it because of the language used. Others will read it but their view of its value will be distracted by the language.) The violence is necessary to the story, for it is indeed about protecting life and liberty from violent actions. And the book's violence is not senseless violence, except in the fact that a freedom-loving and rational people have senselessly allowed themselves to be put into a position where the only possible solution is violence. Mark and Beverly take the position, in the book and I think in real life, of Jefferson: "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure." Their book fictionally nurtures Wyoming's liberty tree with quarts of the stuff. And also be warned: if the day portrayed in the novel does come to pass, it will likely be a criminal offense to have this book in your library, because more than a little of it is virtually a how-to manual for violent defense of our liberties. If mark takes literary license with the ability to pay for certain things, it is not impossible for these things to happen, by any means. And they are techniques that can be used, with care, over and over again. Also, be warned, it is not a "hero" novel - and in that (though it contradicts the conventions of normal fiction writing and our pop-culture movies) it is more realistic, and more valuable. The plain truth of the matter is that if a "hero" (a man or woman "on a white horse") rises up in the libertarian resistance or in a Bleeding Wyoming scenario of the type Mark portrays here, then the cause of liberty is likely lost: a caudillo ALWAYS betrays the cause - if not overtly and in their own lifetime, in the long run; whether it is David or Judas Macabbeas or Oliver Cromwell or George Washington or a fictional Wyoming politician or Colorado industrialist. Instead, there are many little (and usually unsung) heroes; a lot of people cooperating not by overt and coordinated action but because they are all working towards the same goal - especially when that goal is resistance to tyranny. So there is no main heroic character in this story, and not many protagonists that really stand out - those who do are those who are torn, conflicted in their duties to themselves and those around them: the governor, the Adjutant General, a few others. The major female character in the book faces those same conflicts: an Arapaho Army Engineer officer who could easily be found in Wyoming or adjoining states' Guard units. They deal with their conflicts, for good or bad, and the story progresses as a result. Neither is there really a major villain to the tale: the major antagonists through the book are the nameless president and a few of her advisors, and a single distant bureaucrat. Again, this is reality - not fictional convention. Evil in today's world is NOT commonly the evil of an Adolf Hitler or a Vladimir Lenin - or a Vladimir Count Dracula: it is the evil of bureaucrats "just doing our job" and "being comfortable with our actions" and the petty evil of the peeping Tom and the bullying inspector and grafting cop and vindictive official or neighbor. It is this kind of evil that is helping suck us down faster and faster, and which is present throughout the book - both inciting and abetting the greater evil of the theft of precious and essential personal liberties. And unlike some novels (which are still good instruments of education about liberty and self-government), there is no deux-ex-machina to solve the problems and wrap up the tale: it ends in a logical and justifiable, if extremely good, way. At the same time, it deals with just one aspect of the growing tyranny of this nation, and perhaps takes too rosy a view of the residents even of the great State of Wyoming, and how those who are NOT part of the 2% will act. There are a few mistakes, glaring to me because I know the state and its surroundings as well as I do, and some reactions and responses that are almost caricature rather than real to life - but overall, they are only minor distractions which most readers will not notice. Mark also addresses some issues and posits some tactics that deserve some very serious thought. Many of these deserve a lot of thought and some attention to planning by members of Free State Wyoming and other groups dedicated to restoring freedom in the Western States. For this alone, he deserves accolades and appreciation. Overall, it is a book that needs to be read by libertarians across the nation. Of the dozen or so overtly libertarian novels in a generally "realistic" (versus science fiction or historical or fantasy) setting in the past decade, it certainly approaches the readability and plotting of Smith or Suprynowicz far better than most, and avoids the severe errors of location, characterization, plot and readability of too many libertarian novels - especially when self-published. I hope to address some of the excellent points Mark raised, in future columns. - Nathan
Barton, February 2009 [To order this book, go to Mark's website.]
Nathan Barton is writing this from a wonderful place in the West, which might be in the Black Hills of South Dakota or Wyoming, or might be in one of the Four Corners States. Exactly where it is, the breezes blow with the scent of liberty, and the sound of the pines or the pinions is the sound of freedom. For thousands of years, people have fought and died for the liberty that Americans in the great spaces of the West enjoy, and he writes these commentaries in the hopes that continued generations will be able to do so, until the end of Time. Visit the blog: The Gospel Sower |
"Islamist Terrorism" and the US Role: a response to Ivan Eland Science and Economics Vs Green (And Other) Nonsense Bogus Cell Phone Fire Warning Email Armed and Ready To Defend - The Greater Love The Inherent Contradiction of Government The New Bogeyman: Worldwide Hunger and Biofuels A Baker's Dozen - Meditations On The Scripture and Our Right To Defend Ourselves The Russo-Georgian War of 2008 to date: a libertarian view Baker's Dozen Reasons To Defeat The Bailout "The First Hundred Days" - New Tyranny in a Once-Free Union Complete Archives for Nathan Barton
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