Fahrenheit 451

Sometimes, oftentimes, I am way behind the curve. Fahrenheit 451 is a book I have been aware of for over 40 years, but never cracked a cover, until recently. A fictional novel researched and written by Ray Bradbury, in the forties, published by Simon & Schuster in 1951.
This is a science fiction story focused on a futuristic society, centrally manipulated by a government which controls the information citizens receive, and destroys the information, namely books, that citizens could use to generate thought. Individualism is denied by removing the triggers that incite creativity.
The central character is a man named Montag, his occupation is firefighter. In this world the people are addicted to television and listen to insipid dialog constantly with earbuds. News is controlled by the government and sprinkled in to television entertainment in bite sized sanity bits. All books other than trade magazine are outlawed and Montag's occupation as a firefighter is different from what we know in that the risk of fire to property is zero, firemen exist to burn books that citizens have hidden away from the government. The people have been lead to be ignorant by a government that needs them to be malleable.
As the protagonist, this fireman is called out with a team to the homes of reported book owners, the books are found and burned, the citizens jailed or exterminated. Montag develops a conscience, in curiosity sneaks away some books for reading, including a Bible, which by this time has become a rare thing. The fire chief discovers Montag's secret obsession and conducts a raid of his home, Montag's wife betrays here husband reveals the library. The books are burned on the front lawn, and in a confrontation, Montag, in defense of himself, burns the fire chief to death. Montag goes on the lam from the government. The government uses television to inform citizens of the fugitive in the city street, whipping up support. The search becomes the biggest thing happening in the city. Montag manages to escape the city and get to the country where he joins up with a group of men who roam the countryside. These men have each memorized particular books, shedding the physical books, they roam the country on defunct railroad tracks, sharing their knowledge with the like-minded and waiting for a revolution and then the next Renaissance. The government, to save face in their failed search, kills another man on television, after intentionally misidentifying him as Montag the fugitive. 
Fahrenheit 451 predicted parts of what we now recognize as common culture, such as, the rejection of great works of literature, supplanting religion, a preoccupation with television, personal ear-to-ear communication, and a deceptive government keeping is people ignorant to make the matter of control simple.

In short I loved the book,Fahrenheit 451, the temperature at which book paper catches fire and burns.

Another Deflection

As I have said before, my congressman is David Scott, representative of the 13th district in Georgia. Mr. Scott basically is a standard democrat, educated first at a, HBC, Florida A&M, and then in the Ivy League at the University of Pennsylvania for an MBA. Little David has been in in various elected positions since 1973, pretty close to 50 years. He represents only his Democrat constituents and has intentionally neglected town hall meetings, where the constituent opposition was strong. He sits safely in a gerrymandered district and spews nonsense answers to real questions and demands.

Dear Mr. VOTER:

Thank you for contacting me regarding immigration. I appreciate your thoughts on this issue. 

 

Please be aware, I do not support illegal immigration.  I believe we must stop people from entering this country illegally by sealing off our borders. To that end, I support legislation that requires building an electronic fence and the use of advanced technology to help with surveillance. I also support increasing the number of border patrol agents, as well as further using the National Guard and other military personnel, to help with border security. However, we must have clearly defined rules that are easy to follow and keep people safe.

 

In your letter, you expressed support for H.R. 479. As you may know, H.R. 479 would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act and end the visa lottery program that awards 55,000 green cards to foreign citizens. Applications are selected through a random selection process that is administered by the Department of State. In 2018, nearly 14.7 million entries were submitted for the lottery. According to the Harvard Study “The Labor Economics Case for the Diversity Visa Lottery”, the benefits of the Diversity Visa Program include strengthening and diversifying the American labor workforce, while creating a better life for immigrants. Currently, H.R 479 is pending in the House Committee of the Judiciary. While I am not a member of this committee, please rest assured I will keep your views in mind should this bill come to the House floor for a vote.

 

Again, I thank you for sharing your views with me. I hope you will continue to give me the benefit of your opinion in the future. In addition, I encourage you to visit my web site at http://davidscott.house.gov, where you can view the latest news and obtain information on issues and legislation that is important to you. You can also sign up for my electronic newsletter and receive periodic updates on my activities as your representative in Washington. Thank you again for contacting me, and I look forward to continuing to serve you.

Sincerely,
David Scott

Member of Congress

You have to admire the chutzpah, suggesting that he is against illegal immigration while adding that what really need is an electric fence and better rules. An electronic fence may very well be appropriate in some sections, but the rules comment is what I really take issue with. There is an abundance of rules already on the books, they are not working. Adding new rules does not remove the attractiveness of opportunity for potential illegal aliens. The temptation needs to be removed, passing a national E-Verify requirement will constrict the attractiveness of opportunity, without considerable expense. For the people who are and plan to storm the border, rules don't do squat.
David Scott, you're full of shit.