I search online for interesting or unusual information about men, men's issues, mid-life crisis and male menopause. So when an interview with Frank Herbert, of Dune sci-fi fame, popped up in my inbox from Google Alerts, my curiosity was piqued.
I'm not a particular fan of sci-fi (sorry), so imagine my surprise to discover that this guy's got something to tell me. Here's an excerpt (with some paraphrasing):
A list of his literary achievements would hardly serve to sum up this unique individual. The Washington State author staunchly maintains that any person's life should consist of much more than his or her work role (even if that role is a prominent one) . . . so he puts a lot of energy into his "nonprofessional" time.
In keeping with his beliefs, Frank's a devoted father, spouse, and family man. Equally important, Mr. Herbert is an outgoing social commentator who combines a strong sense of traditional values with a radical's zest for questioning (and even parodying) the basic assumptions of our culture. Even though he tries to write entertaining, future-oriented stories, his books always contain messages that he believes are relevant to our situation today.
Herbert: To put my beliefs simply: I think we ought to be loyal to our friends . . . we ought to be truthful . . . we ought to be supportive of family members . . . and we ought to provide one another with help directly instead of delegating our good deeds to institutions.
I don't like governmental "helping"—or any kind of public charity system—because I learned early on that our society's institutions often weaken people's self-reliance and damage family bonds as well.
Take education, for instance. . . . Today, though, the professional education establishment assumes that the family doesn't know what its own members need or want. The result is a classic failure . . . an institutionalized system that does more harm than good. . . . We have to learn to recognize that we're always going to make some mistakes, and-knowing that-we shouldn't tie our careers and self-esteem to decisions that could later prove to be the wrong ones.
People must be able to say freely, "Hey, that turned out not to be such a good idea. I'd better not do that anymore."
The interview continues with Herbert's views on ecology, environmentalism, technopeasantry, advocating the development of alternative fuels, big government, the dangers of technology and man's essential interdependence.
He calls for people to adopt a questioning state of mind that deliberately avoids set solutions, but, he says, "I don't believe in simple answers."
Here's the kicker: I didn't realize until I finished reading and sat thinking about how this might be relevant to my readers when I discovered that the interview was almost 25 years old! While Frank Herbert physically passed on in 1986, his views are as relevant today as ever.
If you say, "I don't want that to happen," and all the while you are making it happen, which thing are we to believe? Do we believe the words or do we believe the body? from Soul Catcher
Note: The original interview in Mother Earth News is no longer available online. For an current update of the man and his monumental achievment, Dune, read Scientific American.
Photo credit: Vernon Swanepoel, Creative Commons
