Guilty Guiltiness, Part II

Frank Herbert is an interesting writer. God Emperor of Dune, like his other Dune books, is a set of conversations. Very static situations, interspersed very conservatively with action sequences that are over in the matter of a few pages. He treats action with kid gloves, while giving conversation full focus. So why am I caught up in this book? Admittedly, it's a simpler read than Dune. But might that be due to the fact I'm now familiar with Herbert's architecture, so that reading this book is easier than when I was a Dune acolyte? I found the same with Tolkein's The Silmarillion. Tried to read that as a youngster and just couln't get through it. No Bilbo whatsoever. But in the meantime, I've read LOTR over and over again. Michelle got The Silmarillion for me a few Christmases ago, and I was able to sit and read it, and actually enjoy it. The difference was I'd filled up on Tolkein before coming back to this book. Frank Smith is right in Understanding Reading that it's easier to read if you can rely on your prior knowledge.

Reminds me of Phil Connors' line from Groundhog Day: "Maybe that's how God got to be God. He's just been around for so long, he knows everything." I know that's not a direct quote; it's a paraphrase. But it's close enough to the original I'm not bothered.

On to other news: THe raids on the FLDS compound in El Dorado, Texas. Glad they did it. Utah and Arizona should have gotten more involved in breaking this mess up when the group was still in Hildale, Utah and Colorado City, Arizona. Don't know why they didn't. But then there's a lot of sentiment in that area that this is a question of religious tolerance, elthough it's hard to see why when we, tolerant of religion, wouldn't want to see our own children forced into ploygamous relationships. There's a big disconnect here. You didn't see people saying Elizabeth Smart's kidnappers, who put her into a polygamous relationship, should have been allowed to do so. But, they argue, that was a kidnapping. Not voluntary. I counter: What's gone on in El Dorado, marrying off children to grown adults, didn't sound all that voluntary either. Shame on them.