Stephen King for President

I've been mulling over this week's post ad nauseum. Everything from common courtesy and common sense, to societal changes, to the upcoming election, to Brexit, to yellow journalism, to cyber bullies who voice their opinions on social media rather than in a forum where their opinions might be challenged. I've seen good friends supporting a platform that I am staunchly against and I scratch my head wondering how they got to that point. There is so much misinformation in the media that its hard to find the truth, and that's how bad decisions are made.

Its times like this that make me want to cry out "Stephen King for President!" After all, a man who has written the darkest corners of fiction, the end of the world in The Stand, an alien invasion (or was it?) in Dreamcatchers, and several other apocalyptic scenarios, still gives us hope for a brighter tomorrow.

Dan Brown constructs a scenario of germ warfare. Robert Langdon is staring the end of the world in the face, and only he can solve the puzzle that will save humanity.

Doomsday Scenarios
Authors have the unique requirement to write a worst case scenario and then find a solution for it. Oftentimes, you'll hear them say they had no idea how their characters were going to find their way out of whatever mess they'd been written into. But they always do. Authors are problem solvers. Since we made up the mess, we can make up solutions, or responses that lead to solutions. Wouldn't it be great if we could do that with the problems of the world?

My current work in process deals with police corruption, or rather, one corrupt policeman. They're out there, but they're in the minority. Police have a tough job, and to condemn an entire profession based on a few bad apples is suicide. These guys put their lives on the line for us every single day. As an author, I'm obliged to find a worst case scenario, and so I took a good long look at one of the bad guys. To counterbalance that, the next book in the series will take a look at one of the good guys, but because of THIS book, he has prejudice to overcome, and isn't that what life is about? Taking a look at both sides? Recognizing that not everyone is good, but by the same token, that doesn't make everyone evil?

Wow. Am I on my soapbox again? Oh hey. Then I should start the campaign. Whattya say? Stephen King for president?