Or so says Mormon, Glenn Beck. Fundamentalist Christian culture warrior James Dobson has written a new book titled, Fatherless. It is described as a faith-based dystopian thriller.
Amazon.com describes Dobson’s book as:
The year is 2042, and a long-predicted tipping point has arrived. For the first time in human history, the economic pyramid has flipped: The feeble old now outnumber the vigorous young, and this untenable situation is intensifying a battle between competing cultural agendas.
Reporter Julia Davidson-a formerly award-winning journalist seeking to revive a flagging career-is investigating the growing crisis, unaware that her activity makes her a pawn in an ominous conspiracy. Plagued by nightmares about her absent father, Julia finds herself drawn to the quiet strength of a man she meets at a friend’s church. As the engrossing plot of FATHERLESS unfolds, Julia will face choices that pit professional success against personal survival in an increasingly uncertain and dangerous world.
In the dystopian tradition of books like 1984, Brave New World, and The Hunger Games, FATHERLESS vividly imagines a future in which present-day trends come to sinister fruition. The second and third books in the series, CHILDLESS and GODLESS, will follow at eight-month intervals.
In a recent USA Today opinion piece, Dobson writes about the “numbers” behind his book, Fatherless:
Americans are realizing they are facing a demographic nightmare that has been looming in other Western nations for decades.
For the first time in history, fewer American babies are being born while the number of senior citizens is growing. Baby Boomers are reaching retirement age, increasing the ranks of the elderly. At the same time, women living without a spouse outnumber those who are married. The result is a birth rate in decline. If it were not for immigration, our nation would be in serious trouble.
Men and women have a right not to procreate, but serious consequences emerge when an increasing percentage of couples choose barrenness. A nation can reach a tipping point from which it cannot recover. America is not there yet, but that appears to be where it is headed.
Other countries have gone even further down that road.
The Russian government is offering incentives now for women who produce babies. Japan’s birth rate has fallen so dramatically that the Japanese population has the oldest average age on earth. Last year, more diapers were bought and used by aging Japanese than were purchased for babies.
China, with its “one-child” policy, is not producing enough females for Chinese men to marry. Its birth rate is plummeting. France, Germany and other European countries are also concerned. Declining fertility is a worldwide phenomenon.
If the human population continues to wither, it will have shocking implications for nations, economically, politically, culturally, socially and spiritually. Every dimension of life will be impacted. Medical plans will fail. Pensions will not be sustainable.
When calculations were made to test the viability of Social Security in the 1930s, the numbers appeared to “work” because the young and healthy were always expected to outnumber those who were old and sick. Now politicians are talking quietly about the inevitability of “rationed health care.”
It comes down to this: A society with a serious decline in its birth rate will become a world without springtime or regeneration. The laughter and exuberance of the young will become a diminishing treasure. The result will be a self-absorbed culture dominated by old, tired, dying individuals. The world will be the worse for it.
It’s not too late for politicians to begin cherishing and nourishing our families and treating them as our greatest natural resource. Instead, with the exception of the child tax credit, legislatures have showed a disregard for the contributions of this venerable institution.
For example, in 1969, Congress imposed a “marriage penalty tax” on married couples. It continued for the next 32 years. By contrast, unmarried couples living together, most without children, received tax advantages.
Now, President Obama wants to reinstate the marriage penalty under the guise of ending “tax breaks for the rich.” Come on, America. We can do better than that.
Not only should the government do what it can to encourage families, but the culture at large must honor those who are investing themselves in children.
Boys and girls are among God’s most precious gifts to humanity and our link to future generations.
In other words, Dobson thinks we need MORE people in the world not less. I love how everything Dobson opposes is a “nightmare.” The real nightmare is a world of 10 billion people, a world where natural resources are rapidly depleted and people turn to violence to get enough food to eat.
I predict a lot of Evangelicals will buy this book and, just like they did with the Left Behind books, confuse FICTION with reality.
People like Dobson and Glenn Beck are scaremongers. Anything to advance their kingdom and make a buck. (interesting that Dobson appears on Beck’s show, Dobson, a Christian Fundamentalist, does not think Mormons are Christians.)
This is another reminder of why we cannot ignore people like James Dobson and Glenn Beck. If they ever gain power and control in this country, THAT would a true-life dystopian thriller, one in which our country as we know it ceases to exist.
Anyone who says we need more people in the world is delusional and living in denial of the real suffering that is going on most everywhere one looks. Dobson, even thinks China needs MORE people.
I just requested this book from the Library. I will try to hold my nose long enough to read it. I will write a review when I am finished.
For Further Investigation:
One word – Albania.
Chose BARRENNESS? Golly I thought it was being responsible. I’ve been a member of Zero Population since I was 19; in my 50′s now. Barrenness… yes that word has me seething! The term is Childless by Choice. I am not barren, I was perfectly capable of helping to further fill up the world, I CHOOSE to NOT reproduce.
Isn’t it amazing – a woman is considered barren, not really a woman yadda yadda yadda, but what about the male?
Society does not treat those of us that decided against having kids nearly as badly as before; well the south is still a PITA, but….
Can you tell this struck a nerve?
I will not be reading the book, the reviews, or watching/hearing any interviews on it. My temper is far too short and I don’t need to scare the fur-kids by ranting at the monitor.
It irritates me as well. I also don’t have kids because I *choose* not to have them.This isn’t a tragedy!
But I am looking forward to Bruce’s review.
In Dobson’s world, a woman’s worth is defined by marriage and having children. Everything else is just minutia. I have said several times that I don’t understand how ANY woman stays in the Evangelical (or Catholic) church. Evangelical beliefs are demeaning to women and women are treated like second class citizens.
Dobson is one of my least favorite people. He is a political Philistine, and dishonest. someone should explain to him that health care is already rationed. If you aren’t old enough for medicare, aren’t employed by a large company with good insurance benefits, aren’t poor enough for medicaid, your health care is rationed by your pocketbook.
I also was childless mostly by choice, although I now know there was a medical condition involved also. We have an epidemic of young people having children who are either unfit or unwilling to raise them, hence the new trend of grandparents raising their grandchildren. We have people having children who cannot raise them without help from the government. In comparison, people who choose not to have children aren’t hurting anybody.
As someone who is also childfree by choice, I agree. In a world of 7 billion people and growing, choosing not to have children is a responsible decision. Likewise, having children that one cannot or will not care for is the height of selfishness.
Ugh. This books sounds like it’s based in fears over “demographic winter”, when in reality, global overpopulation and overconsumption are the real looming problems. I may pick up a copy and review it for my blog as well — I suspect there are plenty of hair-raising themes therein if it was written by Dobson.
Right off the bat, using 1984, Brave New World and the Hunger Games in the same sentence as seemingly equal types of the dystopian genre irks me. Then again, truth be told, I can’t think of much about Robertson or Beck that doesn’t irk me. What I’m suspecting regarding Fatherless is that it will be more within the literary ranks of Left Behind. I could be wrong – wouldn’t be the first or last time. I look forward to your review, Bruce. Mainly because I admire your wit and think you’ll find lots of material. I admire the lengths you’re willing to go to further hone your craft, keep us informed and entertained.
Thanks, Anne.
Dobson and his ilk don’t seem to understand that society and the economy looking and behaving differently than it does right now isn’t a net loss. It’s simply not following their world view, but all that means is the world as we know it is changing. Women are going to choose what’s in their best interest, and that scares the hell out of the fundies. There weren’t enough economic incentives in the world for me to have children. Just wasn’t in my nature, and I’ve enjoyed my marriage and career immensely, thank you very much.
So having children so someone will financially support you in your dotage is an acceptable reason to procreate in Dobson’s world? What a morally bankrupt and ethically vacuous man.
I’m currently in the middle of reading this really awful book. My first comment is that conservative Christians should not attempt to write science fiction or SF type fiction as they haven’t a clue about it. There a great number of brilliant SF novels that deal with population, dystopias and the decline of civilization. In the novel, they attempt to create society that is “encouraging” people to die early. However, beyond there being a government funding crisis, there is anything else to suggest other problems. Might there be a climate and food producing crisis, you ask? No there is. Maybe a peak oil/energy crisis? Not that I can tell. A war with Islamic countries? So far no.
This book almost makes the first “Left Behind” book seem less awful. The “Hunger Games” does a far, far better job of dealing with population and political issues. Unless you’re into tormenting yourself, wait for poor Bruce to torture himself. Bruce, I recommend saving a book by a favorite author to “wash” the awful out of your brain. Ugh.
Thanks Scott. Hopefully, I can make quick work of the book.
“There a great number of brilliant SF novels that deal with population, dystopias and the decline of civilization.”
Can you give some recommendations?
All I can think of off the top of my head is “The Handmaid’s Tale.”
American Rust in an interesting read.
I just requested it from my library. Thanks!
This was the last fiction book I read. I enjoyed it but I am no expert on fiction. That is Polly’s realm.
Ok, here are a couple.
“A Canticle for Leibowitz” Walter M Miller jr
“Alas Babylon” Pat Frank
“Revolt in 2100″ Robert Heinlein
“Julian Comstock” Robert Charles Wilson
“Parable of the Talents” Octavia Butler
“The Doomsday Book” Connie Willis
While none are close match to what Dobson is doing, they do deal with societal collapse, survival and in some cases religion an society. The first 3 are classics from the early 60′s, so will show attitudes from then.
Scott
Thanks, Scott.
While I haven’t read the book and don’t plan to, the big question that I hope will be answered is this; how will it be when the aged does outnumber the younger generation of workers who are supporting the Social Security system and the taxes that will be lost due to death and retirement? I have wondered exactly that for a long time. For example, babies that are aborted will never grow up to be employed and taxpayers in our economic system. The only answer that i see to this problem is enforced euthenasia. When a person turns 65 and can no longer contribute, to “put them to sleep”. There are already some politicians, most of them Democrats, who have asked the same questions.
Just because two conservatives are asking these things doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t be answered.
BTW, Bruce, I don’t understand the title to this post. Uncle Tom’s Cabin is considered by many to be a great piece of literature that was a major factor in helping to free the slaves. I would have thought that you wouldn’t have compared this book to a book like that one.
Dobson and Beck both said the book was like Uncle Tom’s Cabin.
I think we must address these issues but breeding our way out of it is not the answer. Increased taxes, increased retirement age, expanding the payroll cutoff, make Congress pay back what they have borrowed from Social Security…for starters.
I didn’t know they said that. I stand corrected.
As for forced euthanasia, that is the next logical step. There are a number of social leaders who say that the only way to control economic collapse is too limit the ones who are not “pulling their weight”.
It will start with physician assisted suicide, but that will be a very small number. Most people want to live as long as they can. Support of forced euthanasia will grow. It will start in the prisons, grow to the slums and finally an age will be set where it will be forced. I don’t see it happening in my lifetime, but it is sooner than we would like to think.
Humanistic people like you have on this blog love to talk about “logic”. These things are the logical steps.
No, there is no evidence for forced euthanasia being the next step. There is no secret agenda here, no death panels for Grandma. Please point me to the authors who have stated we need to kill off the unproductive? I am talking about mainstream authors, not a crackpot outlier.
I know of no one advocating forced euthanasia. Support for euthanasia and physician assisted suicide is not the same as forced euthanasia.
Should we continue to pay for treatments and procedures that only add weeks or a few months to a person’s life? should we continue to artificially keep people alive who have no hope of recovery?
Immigration
Hopefully Dobson will be dead before the sequels get written. Looks like Beck was having an Orgasm as he held Dobson’s book up. Maybe he got the opportunity to give old James a blow job after the show.
I wonder if this has got anything to do with the birth rate of Muslims compared to Christians?
That was my first thought when I was reading this. I’ve listened to Dobson pontificate on a number of occasions about how Christians needed to get busy because it won’t be long before the number of Muslims born will outnumber the number of Christians on the planet. Because the Muslims take their edicts seriously and they’re making their quivers full. They’re churning ‘em out faster than a Pez dispenser (I’m paraphrasing, of course). Doesn’t matter if you can afford ‘em or even want ‘em. Just have ‘em. That’s right. Keep ‘em coming. The more the merrier.
Oh, it doesn’t work like that?!?
They try to sell this by saying we need more young workers to pay taxes to pay for the retirement of older people. They sidestep the issue…what jobs will these young workers be working? Young adults are going to college in record numbers yet…no jobs. Here in the rural, dying Midwest..our children have to move away to get decent jobs. Factories are either closed or have drastically reduced employee numbers.
Like you say in your comment, the real issue is xenophobia. Many Christians fear that they are going to be marginalized or overrun my the Muslim/Hispanic horde.
Absolutely. I think aging white Christians fear being overrun by the Muslim horde. Now…I am not naive to the fact that there is an element with Islam that advocates breeding as a way to take over countries. We should pay careful attention to this. Like with Evangelical Christianity, there are certain segments of Islam that want to see everyone bowing towards Mecca. They despise multi-culturalism and religious pluralism.
“They despise multi-culturalism and religious pluralism.” – just like the scared, old, white, men do here. I sense a trend….
Jack London wrote an amazing short novel called The Scarlet Plague, where an epidemic kills all of humanity except for a few hundred people. I never see it included in any Jack London anthologies, I think it is in the public domain now. Free version here: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/21970
Wow, thank you!
About 20-25 years ago I heard Dobson on the radio talking about how domestic violence against women was on the rise, and he attributed the cause to the growing liberalism since the 1960s. I was flabbergasted at how idiotic that whole line of thinking was. As if the problem were liberal college professors beating women.
Now Dobson’s solution is to pine for the good old days, but he doesn’t mention that in those good old days it was legal to beat your wife (or slave). What an utter con man.
Most Evangelicals have a sanitized, nostalgic view of the past. In Baptist circles, a lot of churches and pastors call themselves “old-fashioned.” Old fashioned usually means we do it like we did it in the 1950′s. If they want to be really old fashioned, why not go back 2,000 years and do it like Jesus did. Oh, that go sell all you have and follow me is a little TO old fashioned.
There is a book about a dystopian America ruled by the religious right “A Handmaiden’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood.
This book is in my “to read” pile. Alas, there are several dozen books ahead of it. I have heard good things about this book.
So many books, so little time.:)
Atwood’s prose is incredibly beautiful. (She is one of the few Canadian authors most people have heard of for a reason.) But she does seem stuck on a very very bleak view of the world. Fair warning.
I actually read The Handmaid’s Tale when I was in high school. And it wasn’t even assigned! It just looked interesting. And it was. But I was depressed for a week.
Oryx and Crake had the same effect. So did Cat’s Eye.
But damn, the woman can write. Just for the prose alone it’s worth the Prozac you’ll need when you’re done