Have you read Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler, first published on October 1, 1993? Butler, the first African American science fiction novelist and a precursor to Afrofuturism, has seen a resurgence in readership in recent years. Many now view her work as prophetic—eerily reflective of the state of America today, a fascist leaning President, basic freedoms destroyed.
Prophecy, by definition, refers to predictions or pronouncements that eventually come to pass. In revisiting Parable of the Sower after more than a decade, I am struck by its unsettling relevance to our current political turmoil. Written in the late 1980s, Butler’s novel reads as prescient as the warnings of the Old Testament prophets. It explores a world where corporate entities replace government functions—a fictionalized lesson that feels disturbingly familiar.
As I prepare for the Christian holy tradition of Lent, the novel resonates with a painful urgency. It depicts the decay of American society, a world where people disregard one another’s well-being, where human suffering is met with indifference. But what unsettles me most is the absence of empathy—both in Butler’s dystopian world and in our own. The novel describes a society where food is unaffordable, violence is rampant, and human life is expendable. Housing and safety are bartered through exploitative systems that resemble modern-day sharecropping in privatized communities—communities that, inevitably, fail.
One of the novel’s most haunting elements is the fate of those who possess hyper-empathy—the ability to physically feel the pain and pleasure of others. In Butler’s world, these individuals are kidnapped, exploited, and rendered powerless by the very empathy that makes them human. The novel raises an urgent question: What happens when a society loses its ability to feel for others?
Are we becoming numb to suffering? Do we accept mass layoffs without considering the families affected? Are we teetering on the edge of barbarism—where capitalism’s relentless pursuit of efficiency, productivity, and profit trumps human dignity? A society that prioritizes corporate wealth over people inevitably destroys families, communities, and, ultimately, its own humanity.
So we must ask ourselves: Does a society devoid of empathy hinder the fight for justice?
This is a question that demands reflection—not just in the days to come, but in the choices we make every day.
#Parable of the Sower
#Hand maids Tale
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