heinleinblog

You might be familiar with James Pinkerton through his appearances as a conservative pundit on FOX News Watch. He’s also a big fan of Heinlein. He wrote these words in an article for Tech Central Station (which I came across in my search for information about the next movie):

And for what it’s worth, while the real Heinlein had a militaristic streak, he was the opposite of a fascist. Instead, he was mostly a libertarian; in the novel, a character brags, “Personal freedom for all is greatest in history, laws are few, taxes are low, living standards are as high as productivity permits, crime is at its lowest ebb.” And in addition, the real Heinlein always opposed the draft.

Fifteen years after his death, his work retains its power to shake things up. And Heinlein, who lived till he was 80, would have liked that. As he once put it, “To stay young requires unceasing cultivation of the ability to unlearn old falsehoods.”

And what are the falsehoods of today? One is that America doesn’t face serious threats. And another is that the world doesn’t face serious threats. As Heinlein said in a 1973 speech to his alma mater, the Naval Academy:

“In this complex world, the scientific method, and the consequences of the scientific method are central to everything the human race is doing and to wherever we are going. If we blow ourselves up we will do it by misapplication of science; if we manage to keep from blowing ourselves up, it will be through the intelligent application of science. Science fiction is the only form of fiction which takes into account this central force in our lives and futures. Other sorts of fiction, if they notice science at all, simply deplore it… But we will never get out of the mess we are in by wringing our hands.”

Now that’s enduring wisdom. Starship Troopers may have anticipated the future of infantry, but Heinlein himself anticipated the overall danger to the species, and to the planet. The Pentagon has been learning its transformational lesson; the question for the rest of us is whether or not we can be equally ambitious in transforming ourselves, so that we can keep ourselves from blowing up this globe. Either that, or use technology to travel elsewhere in the big and beckoning universe.

Go read the whole article, which is about the “Starship Trooperization” of the armed forces into specialized mobile strike teams. It’s also about duty and honor.