Letters

Dogmatism lost

When I heard that the Libertarian Futurist Society had voted Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land into its Hall of Fame, I had to laugh.

Even given that libertarians tend to forgive Heinlein his often odd conservative/libertarian/mystic stance because of The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, I still find it amusing that LFS members would choose Stranger as a novel they philosophically find compatible.

After all, Stranger is about a Martian-raised mystic who believes in spirits, who becomes a near-messiah, and certainly a martyr, for the people on Earth, and whose cult practices collectivism.

This new Hall of Fame entry proves two things: one, that at least some libertarians are not without a sense of humor, and two, that these same people will accept any type of novel as long as they love its author and its characters show sufficient disregard for government.

And they call us dogmatic.

Bravo

Louise Garratt
Mendicino, California