I just finished reading “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley. I was turned on to Huxley by my good friend Lenny, but for one of his other books. “Brave New World” is considered a classic by many, and is generally regarded as the author’s finest work. I have to say, the book didn’t turn me on like I had hoped it would in a literary sense. There wasn’t a growing hunger for me to devour more and more of the book as I finished each page. It was more of a commitment that I had made to complete the book than a natural lure to continue. I’m glad that I did though. It wasn’t until I had finished the book and took a step back that I began to appreciate it on an entirely different level.
In an attempt to comment on this book, but not spoil things and discourage another from reading, I will do my best to straddle the line and be more or less vague about the details. In essence, this book is about what happens to a society that gives everyone what they want. Wars are abolished. Crimes and murders are more scarce than scruples at a Bluth family picnic. The society is, in many ways, perfect. The end is finally achieved from so many of the efforts of civilization over history.
The main tool for the success in this system is a system for everyone receiving their desires (which seems so incredibly distasteful to those who choose to “die to self”). Pre-natal and early childhood conditioning facilitate this. One’s natural urges are changed so that society can meet everyone’s desires. Humans are created in such a way that no one has a relationship with the original owner of the sperm and egg responsible for one’s genesis. In fact, the concept of a mother and father is a type of vulgarity.
Breaking this bond is paramount in the system of human reproduction in “Brave New World”. Babies are hatched in a lab, and not born of a woman. Familial connections are wiped out. This greases the rails for a series of chemical and behavioral modifications, that effectively change the response habits of each person. In a very real way, what is desirable to someone is the choice of the leaders of society. If they do not want someone to like puppies, they will bombard a young child with electric shocks, deafening alarms, and painful strobe lights while in the presence of a puppy, until any desires associated with a puppy are destroyed. Natural urges and desires are placated by a psychotropic drug called soma (Interestingly, a muscle relaxant drug called Carisoprodol is sold under the name “Soma” in the USA, even today). Soma makes everything that is uncomfortable just go away. Essentially, the world is full of drug addicts who vacillate between acquiescence and oblivion.
As I grew up, I was constantly chided for misbehavior and rewarded for compliance. I do the same today with my children. It’s a basic pattern of parental behavior. I know that it is different for some of us, but for me, the desire to please others was extreme with me, and still is. I felt validated when I was loved and praised, and disablingly low when I was ignored or banished. It’s not that I didn’t rebel against certain people, but my overriding desire in most situations was to please others and gain or keep their acceptance. In later years, this turned into a desire to be accepted because I wanted to be a good example of a Christian to those around me. In high school, I wanted to please people so that I could be popular and accepted by the “cool” kids.
After that, I can’t really say why I wanted to please so many people. I just… did. Even today, if there is a room of people, I want everyone to like me. Everyone. This is my desire, and I can’t really say why. I believe that it is at least partly a result of the conditioning that I began with myself at a young age and grooved into a deep gorge over the years.
Is it my fault? Probably. Is it my responsibility to deal with any consequences of this behavior? Of course. Was I born with this desire? Is it natural? That’s where my answers get fuzzier and fuzzier as I examine my own life and the behaviors of those around me. It’s the nature vs. nurture debate.
The son of an alcoholic who finds his first taste of beer much smoother and more pleasant than his friends. The woman whose dad never hugged her who now enjoys having men explore her body. Any number of situations can be shown to relate either back to childhood or earlier. But, which is it? In a lot of cases, our desires are not matters of choice, but of situations that are clearly out of our hands. And if you believe in God (which I do), does responsibility for our desires have any dividing line? If it is human nature, who’s fault is that?
Am I innocent to purchase an iPhone made in China if I am ignorant that life was lost during its production as the result of an effort to keep trade secrets safe? Does my knowledge of any product’s origin make me complicit in any moral or ethical failings that occur on the journey to my consumption of the product? If so, do I blame society for influencing my desires for these products? Do I blame my nature for having the desires? Or do I hold the blame to myself and just wish for the blissful ignorance of childhood?
I’m 29 years old, and I hold no answers. I may never. Is it wrong of me to be skeptical of those who do claim to know? Are you?
Incidentally, it looks like Leonardo DiCaprio is going to be starring in a movie adaption of this book. Hmmmm….
