The Hunger Games

I enjoyed Suzanne Collin’s novel, The Hunger Games, and I watched the movie yesterday.  The premise is a young woman’s struggle to survive against impossible odds, and at the same time, to preserve her humanity.  A different truth struck me.  The future world that she painted reflected too closely Germany under Adolf Hitler and the Soviet Union under Stalin and present-day Iran under religious fanatics.  Evil is an integral part of the human soul.  It will always be with us, just as there will always be individuals who will strive to do that which is right.  No matter how good life becomes, there will inevitably be someone with a convincing voice who will tell us that we have been cheated or that we deserve a greater share of life’s rewards and that somebody else is to blame.  There will always be someone who will pit people against each other and stir the pot until hatred boils over and destroys the good will that years of tolerance and good deeds may have created.  All that we can do is enjoy the good times, treat other people fairly, and shun those who teach animosity towards people who are different from us.