Can violence be disguised in "tradition"?
This is one of the many questions posed in my novel,"The STARLING Connection."
"STARLING" discourages giving a "free pass" to anything, including tradition, while encouraging a strong and thorough questioning of everything. Nothing is to be taken for granted as a "given," and all aspects must be considered...
Is the tradition beneficial to all? Or is the "tradition" hurting some for the exclusive benefit of others?
We advocate critical thinking and skepticism in all things. If a tradition is to be cherished, we must consciously know why? If a tradition is filled with violence, we must discard it and work to replace it with a non-violent tradition that includes all people. Love of humanity must rule over tradition, not "tradition" over our common humanity. This reasoning is why the first chapter of "The STARLING Connection" is titled "Breaking Tradition."
Some folks have said the veneer of "civil society" is often razor thin. In "The STARLING Connection," the veneer is nano (a factor of 10−9 or 0.000000001.) "STARLING" takes a hard look at society's hidden, disguised violence IN MANY FORMS, from top to bottom.
This panoramic view is from the eyes of my dear friend, 15-year-old Simon Laramie, gazing up and all around, from the bottom of a technologically-enabled society to more extreme, brutal levels of hidden violence, in the year 2045...
This is one of the many questions posed in my novel,"The STARLING Connection."
"STARLING" discourages giving a "free pass" to anything, including tradition, while encouraging a strong and thorough questioning of everything. Nothing is to be taken for granted as a "given," and all aspects must be considered...
Is the tradition beneficial to all? Or is the "tradition" hurting some for the exclusive benefit of others?
We advocate critical thinking and skepticism in all things. If a tradition is to be cherished, we must consciously know why? If a tradition is filled with violence, we must discard it and work to replace it with a non-violent tradition that includes all people. Love of humanity must rule over tradition, not "tradition" over our common humanity. This reasoning is why the first chapter of "The STARLING Connection" is titled "Breaking Tradition."
Some folks have said the veneer of "civil society" is often razor thin. In "The STARLING Connection," the veneer is nano (a factor of 10−9 or 0.000000001.) "STARLING" takes a hard look at society's hidden, disguised violence IN MANY FORMS, from top to bottom.
This panoramic view is from the eyes of my dear friend, 15-year-old Simon Laramie, gazing up and all around, from the bottom of a technologically-enabled society to more extreme, brutal levels of hidden violence, in the year 2045...
Sure, most of us incoming 9th graders have heard those scary rumors about the hazing “tradition” at Briar High. We’ve all heard how the senior boys grab the freshmen boys. Well, actually, they’re just the kids the seniors don’t like. And it’s always the boys who aren’t in the “in-crowd.”
We’ve all heard how the seniors pound a freshman’s stomach until it bleeds or something like that. Then they throw you in a trashcan and roll you over the hill. It’s the big hill the school sits on above the superhighway.
From the hill, you can see all the “adults” flying to work for TEMPLE or the Recon Centers. They’re all flying by in their huge new ULTRAs.
Are the traditions we love & cherish non-violent & inclusive to all?
Or do we love these "traditions," which benefit us exclusively, more than our neighbors?
READ "The STARLING Connection."
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