One of the things I wanted to talk about while we were here was something that I was thinking about as I was reading the last novel, and I think it just came more into focus for me; it’s been there for a long time. You have a world that’s teetering on the edge of destruction, possibly, and certainly on the edge of incredible change. And yet, so much of the story line is taken up with people who are aware that this is going to occur, know that it is coming closer and closer, and still their lives are dominated by petty squabbles and concerns about personal power to the detriment of people who are trying to deal with what is to come. Is this something you observe in human nature, and then you just incorporated it into this…
I believe it is part of human nature. I think people who have belly-buttons look to their own self-interest first. Politicians convince themselves that what is in their self-interest is good for the people, and it doesn’t matter what political party—left, right, center—people say, “This is what I believe, this is what I want, and that means it’s good for the people.” People look at their own self interest first. If you want the self-sacrificing hero who is going to say, “This is what is truly in the best interest of the world, and I will put aside my own beliefs, my own wishes, my own desire,” you have to find somebody without a belly button.
And there aren’t many of those around.
No, no.
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