Dark Parties explores how far
someone will go to stand up for what she believes in. My main character Neva
risks everything to rebel against an overbearing government and save those she
loves. If I was faced with Neva’s dilemma, would I do the same? It’s a question
I asked myself over and over while writing Dark
Parties. It’s probably at the heart of why I wanted to write this story.
I would
like to think I would be a rebel and stand up and speak out for what I believe
in – no matter what the cost. But that’s an easy thing for me to say from my comfy
flat in London. That’s a much different decision when there’s a gun or
Protectosphere standing in your way – or worse yet when your actions would hurt
a loved one. I want to believe that I would have walked along side Martin
Luther King, for example. I want to believe that I’d step in when I see
injustice. As
Edmund Burke said: “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good
men to nothing.”
But for
most of us, improving the world doesn’t often come down to life or death
decisions, nor is it focused on one moment in time. It’s constant baby steps.
It’s making small decisions on a daily basis.
More
than twenty years ago, I attended a Franklin-Covey seminar on time management.
I’m a compulsive list maker and planner. I have an electronic to-do list but
also often have adjunct Post-it note lists tacked all over. This seminar talked
about planning each day based on what you want to accomplish long-term. The
presenter asked us to imagine a two-by-four plank placed between the Twin
Towers. He asked us what was important enough to make us cross that narrow
beam. What would we risk everything for?
The
list of worthy causes seems endless: protecting human rights, ending poverty,
curing cancer...all the way and including, well, world peace. But if I’m
honest, there’s only thing for which I’m 100 percent certain that I’d risk life
and limb – those I love. I’d cross a wire strung between the Twin Towers in a
raging wind storm for my family and close friends.
The
presenter in the Franklin-Covey seminar asked us to generate a list of our top
long-term goals. He asked us to break those goals down to what we could
accomplish in one year and then identify what we could do each month, week, day
and then spend the next hour and minute in activities that are directed toward
those goals. It’s a lesson I think about often and still endeavour to plan my
time using this principle.
I’m
not doing enough to improve the world or even my little corner of it, but I
keep trying. I hope that Dark Parties
encourages action and rebellion and inspires the belief that one person can
make a difference. I love the quote from Anne Frank: “How wonderful it is that nobody
need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.”
Wow, thank you Sara - so much to think about there. Again, I would recommend having a look at Dark Parties if you haven't already. It certainly does raise questions about conformity and rebellion, as a good dystopian novel should.
