The exercise of "untried resources
of mind," with which the
careful reader of Frankenstein becomes
familiar, is most
useful in situations such as the presidential campaign
of
2000. Like Justine, who is condemned for an act she did
not
commit, the whole population seems to "know" that Al
Gore
claimed to have "invented the Internet." As in Justine's
case,
in the campaign of 2000 evidence that Al Gore is not
guilty of
exaggeration, but that it is his detractors who
are, is ignored.
Within the machinery of her novel, Mary Shelley also
provides
means to review of the problem of "undeceiving" those
whose
misguided actions run counter to actual progress toward
justice. The very difficult problem of confronting seemingly
overwhelming odds, when dealing with such ignorance,
often
seems so daunting that frequently concerted efforts are
not
carried forward to correct the problem. In this aspect,
Mary
Shelley's father, William Godwin, provides illumination
worth
making use of. The situation Godwin faced during the
Terror
of 1794 did indeed seem hopeless. Most people were resigned
to the seemingly unstoppable process the government had
begun, the trial and conviction of dissenters as traitors.
Yet,
by addressing the flaws in the process in an analysis
written
over a period of two days, Godwin's Cursory Strictures,
published in the Morning Chronicle, resulted in
a complete
reversal of the course of events. With the Internet we
are
better able to publish corrections than has ever before
been
possible.
".... though the effects of truth
may be obscured
for a time, they will break out
in the sequel with
double lustre." Godwin
We hope that those, distressed by the way in which
the 2000 campaign has been subjected to forces of
distortion, will understand that the old axiom has
a corollary. Not only may it be said that those who
do not know history are condemned to repeat it,
a statement that suggests little progress, but it may
also be said that those who do not know history
may be unable to repeat the finer moments in
the course of human events. Here are a couple of
links to www.hailMaryShelley.com pages related
to this. Morning
Chronicle
Terror
of 1794 1st of two
Terror
of 1794 2nd of two
For information regarding participation in this
effort contact: Tom@HailMaryShelley.com
or ToMMLI@netscape.net