freedom has a way of destroying things...

I just finished the third book in Scott Westerfeld's Uglies Quartet: Specials.

Each book has given me plenty to think about.  First, Uglies posed the idea of a society obsessed with becoming Pretty.   Then Pretties spoke of how people are simply better without being random - because human nature causes the desire for war and animosity.  Specials went further into the innate human desire for a world controlled by the elite; which interestingly enough used to be run by the rich when the Rusties (basically us) were around.

Yes, us = the Rusties who use metal machines, go to war, and run the world on egos and money.  It really made me think about the world we live in.  Our children are worried about their appearances, the 1% runs everything, and the rest of the world is in limbo waiting to be blown away.

I don't want to go into detail, because that would simply be giving away the plot (and you have to read the series people!).  But throughout these three books, the reader is introduced to the corporate ways of the Cities, the people who live around the Rusty Ruins, others who live as savages in what is uncovered as an experimental community, and finally another City that does things differently than New Pretty Town works.

In the last chapter of Specials, Tally states that "freedom has a way of destroying things."  These words really hit a nerve with me.  I truly believe that our society takes for granted the freedoms we've been given.  We have the ability to worship whomever we choose, we can speak our minds, we can write blogs like this that aren't censored, and we can become whatever our heart desires.  Of course there are consequences.  However, as a mother I hope I am able to instill the freedoms we have been born with here in the United States.

Books that illustrate a dystopic future oftentimes make one think, especially if the future seems plausible.  To me the best ideas are ones that could happen if we continue down the same road we are currently following.  Each journey we take eventually comes to an end - whether positive or negative.  It is up to us to determine which choices are the best at the time.  Hindsight is 20/20, but perseverance to choose the right path for ourselves is what truly matters.  Here's to making choices that in hindsight make us proud and satisfied.