From: "Ernest Lilley" <elilley at mindspring.com>
To: "'WSFA members'" <WSFAlist at wsfa.org>
Subject: [WSFA] SFRevu Draft: Editorial License - Everyone Comes to DC to Change the World
Date: Thu, 15 Apr 2004 09:03:27 -0400
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at WSFA.org>

Dear WSFAn's and SFRevu Crewmembers
With apologies to those on both lists),

Here's the draft of my editorial for this month's SFRevu
(www.sfrevu.com)

Feel free to rip it to shreds. I have to let it settle for a bit before
I reread it, but your input (as Washingtonians, and opinionated ones
besides) is appreciated. Don't worry about my feelings. What? You say it
hadn't occurred to you? Sigh. Yes, I know.

A number of you aren't Americans, and that's all for the better. Of
course, I may run your comments as a rebuttal next issue.

Ernest

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Editorial License - Everyone Comes to DC to Change the World
by Ernest Lilley

Written Science Fiction tend to avoid Washington DC, but that's not hard
to understand. It's a political town, and politics is the ultimate form
of the "social hack", something that SF readers, as a general rule,
aren't comfortable with.

In their heart of hearts, SF fans really want to believe that if we
weren't competing for limited resources everybody would "just get
along".
Hollywood, with its sights aimed lower, hits closer to the mark. When
Aliens come to earth, with rare exceptions, they stop and pay their
respects to the White House, often visiting the Capital Building, and
just for fun, they like to visit the National Air and Space Museum. Why?
Well, the latter is for a good laugh, but the former, because (to
paraphrase a famous bank robber) "That's where the power is".

Now, I'm sure that there are plenty of you out there saying "Superpower,
smuperpower." One should launched missile in the hands of  a terrorist
will show you where the real power lies.. It would, except that those
RPGs and acts of terrorism are aimed at US troops and Civilians...and
their whole intent is to affect the decisions made in DC.

The world is changing, though that's nothing new. China and India are
rising as new poles of technological and economic might, and though
briefly the US is the only superpower on the block, this condition will
not last. The transiction to the next world order will be painful for
us, but ultimately provides us opportunities far beyond those we have
today. In a world where the power and economic disparity is as great as
it is today, it's not surprising that the have nots should vilify the
haves. Unfortunately, we cannot uplift the rest of the world by giving
them what they lack, for as Thomas Jefferson said many moons ago, "That
which we gain too cheaply, we value too lightly."

The rest of the world needs a seat at the table, but more importantly,
they need a stake in the game. Currently, the table is the UN, but the
players aren't really there to accomplish anything, only to make it
clear that the current state of affairs isn't their fault, or problem.
As long as the US is willing to take on the job of world policing, the
rest of the world will be happy to complain about the job being
done...and not to do it themselves.
Interestingly, policy makers in DC need look no further than their
doorsteps to see an example of this up close. Though the politicians,
diplomats, lobbyists, and federal employees in DC and its surrounding
environs are among the most affluent in the country (and hence the
world) DC's slums and homeless are among the most abject in the nation.
Given a few more generations going on as we are, the world's most
advanced government could find itself surrounded by a third world city.
Why? Because of the unbalance of power.

Living among the Greek temples in DC, but having no voice in the running
of the place must be like what street sweepers felt like keeping Mt.
Olympus tidy.

What will the future hold for DC? Hopefully the movies have it wrong,
though someone should ask the 911 commission if the destruction of US
landmarks by alien spacecraft flying into them shouldn't have been a
clear indication that we were at risk, half a century ago.

Ernest Lilley
Editor - SFRevu