Kurt Vonnegut and I go way back. He actually wrote one of the original reviews of my second book, Something Happened, in 1974. We have remained friends and colleagues over the years. "We call each other when one of us needs something" (Huber). I am thrilled to be able to write on his behalf in this article. Kurt and I have a lot to say about contemporary issues and we usually see things similarly. From this point on, I’m going to write as if I was Kurt Vonnegut commenting on contemporary problems.

I don’t know what all this mumbo-jumbo about the Internet and the information superhighway is about. As far as I can see, its made a hand full of millionaires and contributed to a volatile stock market. From what little intellectual content there is available, I have found it to be half-baked and of slipshod quality. I have seen the web-sites published in honor of me. I am not impressed. Take a look at the books about me, or that new publication, Vonneweek. Those are examples of quality literature. There is no substitution for book.

While the core idea remains noble, that idea of providing instant information to millions of people, the nature of the Internet is still pernicious. There are hosts of good and honest information at our disposal through the Internet, but the leading use remains one of exploiting and entertaining the serenity of a purity of women.

The Internet seems to be breeding a new type of person. I recall the lonesome ham radio operators of my college days. They always seemed so isolated and just "out of it" when it came to anything outside their world. I deplore those people who shun the outside world and focus it on one thing. For God’s sake, get out and look at the sun for once. Stare straight at it and feel the burn. You will never experience anything like that on your computer screen. You can’t feel a computer screen. You can feel and enjoy the sun.

I am very concerned for the rising generation and this new influence that I did not have to contend with in my youth. I think there will be a slump in the growth of the Internet, just as we see shabby entertainment on TV. This slump will happen when people by the millions will realize it will never be what it’s cracked up to be. I don’t know what will happen then. I only know that I probably will not be around when it does. My most solemn and earnest hopes for the rising generation are that they will prosper more than I have and find the time to reflect on the good moments in their life.

I think that if any writer were able to take his own work and throw it to the birds, it would be Stephen King because his work is so boisterous and uncannily popular along the underground. I don’t think a lot about many things these days and I don’t think much of this method of publication. It doesn’t seem real or proper. It does not create a book the way a book is meant to be. I understand King sold over 450,000 digital copies before someone hacked it and got it for free. The hacker then sent copies around the world and let anybody who wanted to read it, read it for free. You can not hack paper.

It is a dangerous world out there and King just learned that again the hard way. But he can afford it. I generally have reservations about experimenting with these new publication techniques. I was given the opportunity to publish digitally my latest novel, Timequake, but that is not they way I want my book to appear. That is not the way a book should be. I do not see the same kind of interaction one feels when reading a good book. There is nothing like curling up with a good book in you most comfortable chair and just enjoying it. The computer screen will never replace good old-fashioned paper. Good riddance to Stephen King, and his electronic book, which is an oxymoron.

This whole story has been two great tragedies from the beginning. I feel it is only going to get worse. The first tragedy is that the poor boy’s mother drowned trying to escape from Cuba and seek freedom here. The Justice Department and Immigration people are just rubbing salt into wounds trying to heal. I do not think that boy even realizes he will never see his mother again. The second tragedy is the media frenzy this little boy has created. This never should have come to national attention. It should have been taken care of carefully, privately, and discreetly. Does the media realize they are probably making conditions worse for Elian because of the hype and publicity he’s received? As typical of journalists and mass media in general, they do not fully comprehend the ramifications of these events. Nobody will for a long time.

I was also very disturbed by the violent manner in which Border Patrol agents stole Elian back to his father. We like to think they exhausted every other option, but I don’t think they tried hard enough. Violence is not the answer in this situation. Aggression begets aggression and we have only seen the beginning of the cycle. It is not up to us to decide the rest of Elian’s plight. It is Elian’s decision, but because he is only six-year-old boy, his mother, who is the only person that can not decide for him, should make the decision. The characters in this plot are not coming together as a very worthy group. Why was his father not on the boat with his mother? What kind of relationship does Elian have with his great uncle? Would Elian be happier here in the United States or in Cuba? Who makes that decision? Why are we throwing politics and foreign policy into this jumbled circus ring? I don’t see any short resolution to the case of Elian and people will still talk about it many years from now.