Pius Politics

I mentioned politics in the last post, and I meant to really get on that a little more, but I sort of drifted away from politics and into my general temperament, which impacts my politics, but doesn't spell out what the bleep they are, or how they show up in my novel, A Pius Man. 

As I said before, I lean libertarian-right. More laws just means that the government can screw you over in more and more various and sundry ways, so I'm wary on laws for the "common good." I won't say kill all the lawyers, but I think tort reform can do that easily enough. Unfortunately, like most people, I'm a bit schizophrenic. I dislike the premise of feeding Moloch, but there are certain people I really want to remove themselves from the gene pool. I'm a New Yorker who thinks everyone should own a handgun, a rifle and a shotgun. I think drugs a really, really bad idea, but hey, legalize them -- the more people who get high, the more Darwin awards we can hand out.... except for PCP, not even drug dealers will sell that crap anymore, as a general rule. 

Like libertarians, there are a lot of things I don't personally believe in, and wouldn't recommend, but I'm leaving the fate of your own soul between you and God. Enjoy.

I generally despise politics with the burning passion of a thousand suns. The government should leave me alone unless I need actual aid -- like someone has broken into my house and I've run out of bullets.

So, of course, since I truly loathe politics, A Pius Man happens to be the most politically charged book I've ever written. With the overall topic of Pius XII, I do take a side. I believe my conclusions are obvious based on my research. 

However, the political portions of the book are discussions, not rants. And the politics are driven more by the characters than by me.

For example...

Sean A.P. Ryan. Mercenary. Believes in the free market system, heavy weaponry, and grew up in Hollywood: therefore he has lived his entire life swimming out of a Leftist cesspool, and dove into the chlorinated waters of libertarianism. When queried on his political affiliations, he would say, “I believe people should be able to own marijuana and machine guns. I will laugh at the marijuana crowd, but if I have my guns, I'm happy.”

Scott Murphy. He's a spy who huts down terrorists for a living. His politics: “I believe in the power of waterboarding. But I'd sooner talk terrorists to death. It's more painful in the long run. When you can talk them into revealing everything they know, kill them, move up the chain of command. Repeat until they're willing to be peaceful, or they are peacefully dead.” He's an accountant by training, so his first thought is how to steal terrorist money.

Giovanni Figlia. Cop. His father was blown up by a Red Army faction in the 1980s, so he has a grudge against extreme, gun-toting Leftists. Aside from that, his politics are: “I have to protect the most powerful religious leader on the planet, and he insists on pissing off nearly one-third of the world's population. Leave me alone and let me do my job.”

Pope Pius XIII (Born: Joshua Kutjok): Hard right-wing. Has all but declared war on the Sudan. Thoroughly dislikes tyrannies, which means North Korea and China dislike him right back. “I am against abortion, gays being married in my church, and contraceptives are against the religion. Then again, you should only have sex with the person you marry, so abortion and contraceptives shouldn't be needed. However, my homeland of Sudan is going through thirty years of religious and ethnic warfare, I have better things to do than deal with whining hedonists!”

Father Francis Williams, S.J.: “I'm a Jesuit transfering into the Opus Dei. I speak six languages and I can kill people with my rosary beads … what was your question?”

Maureen McGrail. Interpol. “I'm too busy being shot at to have a political opinion. Leave me alone.”

Secret Service Agent Wilhelmina Goldberg: As a special adviser to anyone who wants the Secret Service to audit their security, she has been all over, and her political opinion is simple. “At the end of the day, America looks good by comparison.”

Hashim Abasi: Oxford Educated in global politics. Egyptian police officer. His name translates into “Stern Crusher of Evil.” He survived the "Arab Spring," and the military coup that follows. His general politics are "Can I do my job now? Please? Thank you."

The above characters have more influence over how the political discussions go than I do. So, the topics will be... interesting.

So, have enough fun yet? Just click here, and you can preorder it.

And, if you've done that....

The Dragon Awards are open and ready for nominations, and I have a list of suggestions you might want to take a look at. If you already  have a good idea of what you want, just click here to go and vote for them. The instructions are right there.

Or: sign up for my mailing list in order to get free stuff.

The Love at First Bite series.