Sometimes I like to Answer Questions at Quora.com. In this instance, the question was, "If The Handmaid's Tale was real, what do you think your role would be in that society?" This is in reference to Hulu's current TV series based on the 1985 novel of the same name by Margaret Atwood.
I would like to think that ….
 |
| June ( former name ) aka Offred ( Sons of Jacob name ) played by Elisabeth Moss |
Were it me and could not escape? Well, luckily, I don’t work in a job that requires the kind of questioning, critical truthfulness a journalist has, because, if I remember rightly, in one episode, Offred ( June ) is hiding in what seems to have been a newspaper or publishing house. There had been executions in the basement. The entire staff for all appearances. This obviously meant that journalists, intellectuals and the like were either killed or sent to the colonies. So, ol' Davey here would've kept his head down and paid lip service to the regime, eg, “Blessed be” etc.
Having moved in christian circles, I speak the rhetoric fluently and know my Bible fairly well. I would certainly be able to blend in. However, The Sons of Jacob are about as far removed from Christianity as chickens are from eagles. Moreover, I hold an unpopular belief ( among fundamentalists ) that faith is something that should not and cannot be legislated. However, the Sons of Jacob don’t abide by the notion of any kind of personal relationship with God; rather, they seek to impose Old Testament law to the letter. Moreover, Jesus Christ and His teachings of love and tolerance, in the nation of Gilead, barely rate a mention.
 |
| A Sons of Jacob Soldier questions Offred, dashing her hopes of fleeing to Boston. |
I would like to think that I would be more than just the “innocent” bystander. Much in the same way the German citizen went about his daily business during the Nazi regime, I would like to think that I would be doing more than just that. I would like to think that I would take part in some form of resistance - maybe even the Mayday movement or what have you. Who knows - what if I were conscripted, against my will, into their militia? Daesh did that - conscripted men and boys in both Raqqa and Mosul.
 |
| Margaret Atwood |
But here lies the crux. Would I hide those trying to flee, in my basement, at great risk to myself or my family? Would I pass that package along knowing full well that if I were caught, I would be tortured and/or hung? True shame should not only reside with the regime - shame should also sit with those who do nothing while their neighbours are made to disappear in the middle of the night. It sits with those who, by mere inaction, allow atrocity to take its course. I have said that,“I would like to think that ….” a great deal. It's also the title of this article. Well, it's not mere tautology, I actually say this because I have never been tested this way. I live in a democracy and have never experienced my country being war-torn or under the iron fist of a dictatorship.
Jesus Christ barely rates a mention in both the book and the TV series. This is because true Christianity cannot abide such a regime. The Sons of Jacob cherry pick from the Bible ( largely Old Testament law ) to suit themselves and their inane schemes much in the same way Daesh cherry pick from the Quran. Jesus doesn’t rate a mention because if He did, the organisation would crumble from within. This is also why, moreso in the book, that there is an insurgency from the Baptist’s in the south - they are believers in Christ and the teachings of the New Testament.
A very powerful example of how Christ had almost nothing to do with the Sons of Jacob resides in a poignant scene from the TV series where the handmaid’s are ordered to stone to death one of their own. It was on the tips of the tongue’s of Christians and non Christians alike, “…. let he who has not sinned, cast the first stone.” ( John 8.7 ) yet it was never said …. this in itself is a testament to the fact that the Sons of Jacob are as much Christian as Daesh is to Islam. So, in summing up, having access to the strength and power of God, I would like to think that I would NEVER let the bastards grind me down.
Jesus Christ barely rates a mention in both the book and the TV series. This is because true Christianity cannot abide such a regime. The Sons of Jacob cherry pick from the Bible ( largely Old Testament law ) to suit themselves and their inane schemes much in the same way Daesh cherry pick from the Quran. Jesus doesn’t rate a mention because if He did, the organisation would crumble from within. This is also why, moreso in the book, that there is an insurgency from the Baptist’s in the south - they are believers in Christ and the teachings of the New Testament.
A very powerful example of how Christ had almost nothing to do with the Sons of Jacob resides in a poignant scene from the TV series where the handmaid’s are ordered to stone to death one of their own. It was on the tips of the tongue’s of Christians and non Christians alike, “…. let he who has not sinned, cast the first stone.” ( John 8.7 ) yet it was never said …. this in itself is a testament to the fact that the Sons of Jacob are as much Christian as Daesh is to Islam. So, in summing up, having access to the strength and power of God, I would like to think that I would NEVER let the bastards grind me down.
 |
