Can science fiction show average Americans a way to take back their government? Is there a high-tech equivalent to Mr. Smith Goes to Washington or All the President’s Men? I’ll explore the concept in this series of blog posts. Follow the links to part one and part two.
The Twenty-Eighth Amendment
So far in this series, we’ve talked about what’s wrong with American politics and how we can fix it.
As a science fiction writer, I’ve done my part: I’ve come up with a technological solution and written a story about it.
But we both know that utopias don’t work. Whatever the rules of a society, someone, somewhere, will try to work an angle to enrich himself at the common expense.
(Plus, utopian stories are boring. Readers quickly lose interest in travelogues of perfect societies. If everything’s perfect, there’s no conflict. No conflict, no story).
Reflecting that, my technological solution isn’t perfect.
But is it better than what we have today?
Yes.
Is it something that people of good will from any point on the political spectrum can agree is a vast improvement over business as usual?
Yes.
With that in mind, today I’m publishing a standalone editions of my political science fiction short story The Twenty-Eighth Amendment. The ebook edition is only $0.99 at most major bookstores. The print single is $6.99 at Amazon, or ask your bookseller to order ISBN 9798336110036. (US prices, comparable in local currencies of other countries).
You might have already read it in one of my short story collections, either Constitution 2050 or Orbital Maneuvers: The Complete Science Fiction Stories 2019-2020. If you have, thanks! Or if you’d rather read the story in one of those volumes, just follow the links.
But given the blizzard of spin, misinformation, disinformation, and fake news coming out of Washington DC these days, the more avenues readers have to find The Twenty-Eighth Amendment, the better.