Agatha Christie

Folks, 1984 was supposed to be a cautionary tale, not a how-to manual.  We’ve alreadytalked about the attempt to rewrite Roald Dahl’s books because some people felt they were too mean, and now the wokesters are targeting their sites on Agatha Christie’s work for supposedly being offensive to modern audiences.

Agatha Christie is one of the most prolific writers in history.  She wrote 66 detective novels and 14 short stories.  That in itself is an achievement, but being a woman in the first part of the 20^th century made it even tougher.  During a time where women were expected to write romance-fluff novels, if anything at all, Christie broke all barriers and delved into murder mysteries that enthralled fans.  Unfortunately, she used the language of her day, which means that snowflakes today are just too sensitive to take it.  Instead of telling folks to grow the hell up and not read her work if they’re offended by it, some are now actively trying to rewrite her books to make them more modern friendly in terms of tone.

First off, we need books of whatever era to remain unchanged so we can better understand those eras.  Huckleberry Finn wouldn’t be near as impactful if we changed its tone, and neither are Christie’s.  One should be able to appreciate the story and get that times have changed.  Understanding the writer’s prejudices and style add to the story so we better get the overall scope and tone of the work.

Second, ask yourself where this changes.  The standards and language of today is likely to be seen very differently in 100 years, so are we to relegate all books to eventual rewrite as history progresses?  Will no original work be left, lest it offend someone?  Do we rewrite The Odyssey because of how Homer portrayed war and the religions of the time?  Do we update The Miller’s Tale by Chaucer because of the medieval sauciness of the story?

Finally, and not to put too fine a point on it, we have to say stop.  Some ask me why this is such a big deal, and why can’t I let this one tale go.  It’s because there is no appeasing the wokesters.  They will not stop until all culture reflects their worldview, and we’ll be left with nothing that gives us any insight into the past because the past upsets them.  We have to draw a line and say “NO FURTHER!”  Otherwise we resign ourselves to their haughty gaze and submit to what they find reasonable instead of deciding for ourselves…and that standard changes from person to person.  In an attempt to be the most virtuous, the wokesters work to out-compete each other in the Virtue Olympics, until all the flavor and flare is take out of life and we’re left with a bland mush of words that are something ChatGPT could’ve come up with given the right alghorithm.