It is unfortunate that one of the greatest Americans to embrace the role of an author passed away in 2007. Maybe if we were to have done this project before his death, we could have had the opportunity for him to comment on what his thoughts were on this project we are doing. Sadly, we no longer have that chance. And now I ask myself, what would Vonnegut think about this project we are doing? We can no longer ask him, but from what I know about Vonnegut through the research I did, he would have been proud. Here is a quote of Vonnegut's:
"Well, I've worried some about, you know, why write books ... why are we teaching people to write books when presidents and senators do not read them, and generals do not read them. And it's been the university experience that taught me that there is a very good reason, that you catch people before they become generals and presidents and so forth and you poison their minds with ... humanity, and however you want to poison their minds, it's presumably to encourage them to make a better world."
- Kurt Vonnegut
Yes, I know, we aren't writing books. We're writing blog posts, but this quote of Vonnegut still applies in my opinion. Vonnegut is right in these words. Why do people bother writing books or creating literature if the people in charge of our society do not bother reading them or learning from them? In Slaughterhouse Five, Vonnegut does not glorify war. Vonnegut instead focuses on the truths of war: soldiers aren't always macho, brave, courageous, handsome men. War is not a good thing. People die. There is no chivalry. But still, our political leaders charge into war, and they revel in each of their victories, ignoring the casualties caused to the other side. Despite being our enemies, they are still people. Our opinions may conflict, but as humans they have rights. Yes, I know that wars are sometimes necessary and inevitable, but it is the approach to wars that is wrong. It's not just Slaughterhouse Five or the other books Vonnegut wrote, you can also apply this to other books such as 1984 or Brave New world. If we allow our government to take full reins, our country would fall into disaster. Our sense of freedom would be lost. Eventually, the government will spread its propaganda and instill fear into its citizens. Or in the other case, if the world leaders aim to please everyone through pleasurable activities and uniting as a community, we will all conform to the same norms and lose our sense of individuality.
But for Vonnegut, he was able to remove his doubts on why we write and why we teach how to write. It is for the generations of youngsters who have yet to be potty-trained. It is for the generations that have yet to come into this world. It is for the future. We write for those in the future who have yet to grown up and become susceptible to the ways of those in power. Their minds are still fresh and have plenty of room to learn and grow. Vonnegut, being a humanist, valued the rights and freedoms of humans. He believed we all deserved the chance to develop our own beliefs and values, especially as children. And so we "poison" these young minds with humanity. We infect - we teach them and instill the values of humans into them through the literature passed on to us. Not just the values of humanity, but whatever else is necessary for them or whatever we want to teach, as quoted from the latter part of that sentence, "and however you want to poison their minds." Through whatever we teach them, we encourage them through these teachings to make the world a better place. Do not glorify war. Do not support the wrong things. If it weren't for the writings that we have passed down from the past, how are we supposed to learn from our mistakes? It is because of literature and writing that we know better then to drop a bomb on a city and completely annihilate thousands of innocent lives. It is because of literature and writing that we know about our ancestors and the things they did for us to allow us to live the lives we have now. If it were not for written literature, we would not have a past to rely on.
Vonnegut wouldn't want us to bottle up or opinions and forget them in the future. He would have wanted us to express ourselves in the form of writing and allow others to view our ideas and opinions. If Vonnegut was able to see what we have done throughout this project and the numerous pieces of writings we have done, I'm sure he would have nothing bad to say about it. He would most likely be glad we're examining a piece which talked about things so dear to him. Vonnegut would be glad that we are allowing the poison of our works flow through the stream known as the internet to reach and infect those who may need it in the future.
Heck. I'd even say he'd be proud of us.
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