Alas, Babylon

Why am I writing about a novel written in 1959, before the Civil Rights movement, before desegregation, before the Cold War ended, before we could even think of peace with Russia and China?

Pat Frank's classic novel, Alas Babylon, in some ways seems outdated, and yet in others, it hits too close to home.

Politics of the Middle East, spy satellites, nuclear weapons -- sound familiar?

We sometimes forget how far we have come.

The novel still calls our Brothers and Sisters of Color "Negros". The water fountain was still labeled "White" and "Colored". People were still concerned about "Negros" bringing down property values. A man of color was still not considered a man in the white dominated society.

Today, we have a Black man running for President. Most of us are aware that the difference between our Brothers and Sisters and ourselves are merely outward appearances. We are all concerned about our kids, crime, finances, survival.

In the novel, in the end a woman is President. Why? Because "the most junior of government departments and a woman" is the only one that survives the nuclear war, because she was on an inspection tour.

Today, a woman runs for President. Not a default position, but as a fully accepted political candidate.

In the novel, men and women, white and Black, pull together to survive.

Today, do we pull together, or do we pull apart?

If, God forbid, we actually had a nuclear strike or some horrible natural disaster, could we survive, not just as a nation, but as humanity?

In the novel, they do survive. Without electricity, without telephones, without even radios, they survive. The United States survives.

In real life, in 2008, we're without power for three days and our lives are in chaos.

I question, what will we do if, God forbid, the worst ever happens?

Perhaps I think too much. Perhaps I worry too much.

But I know one thing. My father always told us, "Proper prior planning prevents piss poor performance."

Who is planning?

Who?

I worry because it seems like we live for the moment. Too much credit, too many bills, too little saved and stored for emergencies. Even during the recent power outages, I had to go and get batteries and ice, and I actually do have a plan. Well, sort of a plan. But I don't have any money set aside or enough non-perishables stored to last more than a week or two.

And so I worry, while the satellite dish is bringing in some inane show the kids are watching, the ceiling fan is whirling, the icemaker drops another chunk of ice into a glass, the computer is humming away as I type this.

What would we do if we really did have to take care of ourselves for not just a couple of days, but for a year, years, a lifetime? No electricity, no computers, no banks, no cars, no stores, no law?

What would we do?

Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank c. 1959 -- Think about it...