"Cat's Cradle:" It May Be All Foma!

Well, I have this list that I compiled for reading over Christmas break and I just finished one of the books on the list. The book is titled Cat's Cradle and it is written by the famous dark satirist, Kurt Vonnegut.

Now, as a warning in advance, this book will be part review and part reflection, so don't expect a complete scholarly analysis of this rather impressive work.

In connection with my last post and the title of this post, what happens after death is a complete mystery and the different religions and worldviews offer different suggestions or ideas. But the truth is, nobody really knows what happens after we cease our biological functions.

I believe Vonnegut understood this and realized several aspects of a good religion:

1) All religions could be considered to be composed of "foma" or lies. They may speak about to a fundamental truth of what we as humans experience but the "myth" or story that is made up to describe could very well be considered an objective "lie." It is the subjectivity of human experience that attributes any "truth" to these religions. In Vonnegut's work, Bokonon (the founder of the principle religion in this book) states at the book of his work, that it is all "foma" or lies. However, what Bokonon considers to be lies, resonates very much with the people who follow his religion, Bokononism.

2) That a really good religion is form of treason. What more does a good religion, a religion that will survive, inevitably end up doing? Going against government, i.e. some form of treason.* The Christians wouldn't worship the Roman gods or Caesar, hence they were executed for treason. Jesus taught subversive politics (read the sermon on the mount, Matthew 5) and challenged those in charge of the principle "religion" who in turned worked for the government, so he in turn was executed for "treason." See page 143 of the book for this poem:

So I said good-bye to government,

And I gave my reason;

That a really good religion

Is a form of treason.

3) People need meaning and humanity seems to be the only creature pondering this question. Vonnegut puts it like the following through Bokonon by writing:

Tiger got to hunt.

Bird got to fly.

Man got ask himself, "Why, why, why?"

Tiger got to sleep.

Bird go to land.

Man got tell himself, "He understand."

I suppose, that in the end, we have to understand something and I think this is expressed when Vonnegut has a doctor and scientist adminster the Bokonist last rites to the dying President of the Island that the last half of the book takes place on. The dialogue takes place like the following:

"Will this bother you as a scientist," I inquired, "to go through a ritual like this?"

"I am a very bad scientist. I will do anything to make a human being feel better, even if it's unscientific. No scientist worthy of the name could say such a thing."

(Pg. 179-180)

However, this does make the "scientist" a very good human being. In the end we don't know but we do know we exist with each other and because of each other. Therefore, "Love thy fellow human being."

*Although, most religions do not maintain "treason" but are sublimated and corrupted by the government. See Christianity and what happened when it became the official religion of Rome.