So I'm reading Robert E. Howard's Kull: Exile of Atlantis, and it's pretty good. I usually enjoy Howard's work, and, of course, I love Conan. Howard's work sometimes gets dismissed as an orgy of blood and violence, and there is a lot of that stuff, but it's so much more than that. For example, his Conan stories can be seen as one big missive against slavery. Keep in mind, when Howard was alive, there were still former slaves living in the US. It was still within the realm of possibility to bring slavery back.
(It still kind of is, but the odds are low. So far.)
A lot of his work also supports the idea that women are not property, and they should choose to be with someone, not be forced to be with someone. Pretty progressive thinking from someone who lived back then. And then there's this passage from the book I'm reading now.
"Why should laws not change? Time never stands still! Why should people today be shackled by laws which were made for our barbarian ancestors thousands of years ago?"
What do I keep saying? Why do we still follow a Constitution written nearly 240 years ago? I know, I know. There is such a thing known as amendments. But that's not good enough. How does the meme go? Modern problems call for modern solutions. Why are we still doing the same thing we did almost two and a half centuries ago?
But if Howard can write something like this almost a hundred years ago, I guess that doesn't bode well for change. But hey! I have a good idea for a new first amendment!
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