Science fiction at Harry Harrison: "America turns into a fascist state"

The classic of science fiction 83-year-old Harry Harrison, who participated in the International Congress of Eurocon-2008 science fictions in Moscow, spoke in an interview with RBC Daily about his concern to the modern cultural and political life of America.

According to the writer, over a few years of Bush, America "from a democratic power turns into a state of fascist or Stalinist type - the president violates the constitution, the key principles of freedom of speech and freedom of conscience are violated daily."

In his works, Harrison often resorts to the so -called alternative story, which, as he says, makes it possible to construct various options for historical development, creating worlds that are very different from the real.

So, say, in the cycle of “stars and stripes” the writer was interested: “How the world would have changed if the conversion of the United States into Supreme Power would have occurred in the 19th century. After all, if the Yankees and Confederates had managed to agree on the abolition of slavery, the war between the north and the south would simply not have been!” The writer concludes that America already had all the prerequisites for turning into "a strong state, carrying democracy and its own orders to the whole world."

However, this, according to Harrison, does not give the United States the right to ignore the "interests of other countries."

Nevertheless, the writer believes that "any totalitarian regimes will sooner or later doomed to fall, the most difficult circumstances will sooner or later be safely resolved. Humanity has a saving mechanism of self -regulation - bad times cannot last long."

Harrison emphasized that the problem of Americans is also that they "almost completely stopped reading: the book was supplanted by television, cinema, and the Internet." And those who read, perceive literature "as entertainment, witty invention", which can be read and forgot. The writer compares the United States with Russia, where, in his opinion, "there is a clear line between serious and entertaining literature."

At the same time, Harrison evaluates the works of modern Russian science fiction writers: "Traditionally (they) pay predominant attention to the idea of ​​the novel, while the action develops, with plot sagging, overloaded with scientific details."

Harry Harrison is the author of more than 30 fantastic novels (of which the series “Bill - Hero of the Galaxy”, “Steel Rat”, “Eden”, “Stars and Strips”), the founder of the World Organization of the Science Science Sciencewount House World SF, is one of the creators of the Esperanto language, are most famous.

He was born in 1925 in Connecticut. In different years, he worked as an artist, editor, and since 1956 - a professional writer. He currently lives in Ireland. In addition to Esperanto, Harrison speaks 7 languages.