“And I do propose that if we are to pay our sincere respects to the hundred lost children of San Lorenzo, that we might best spend the day despising what killed them; which is to say, the stupidity and viciousness of all mankind.” This quote by Horlick Minton shows one of the major points Vonnegut is trying to make in The Cat’s Cradle. Minton is explaining that the viciousness of men is the cause of a soldier’s death. Soldiers die for their countries beliefs whether it’s democracy, communism, or their dictator and Minton’s speech explains that these men would never have to die if humans weren’t viscous and stupid. The word stupid is a very important part of this quote because it’s not necessarily saying that someone smart can not be stupid. Dr. Hoenicker was a genius, but he naively created one the most powerful and devastating weapons ever. After Dr. Hoenicker created this weapon it allowed other humans with vicious intentions to use it to kill thousands of soldiers, but also thousands of innocent women and children. Minton’s quote doesn’t just target one man like Hoenicker or the people who decided to drop the bomb; it targets all of humanity, the Japanese who attacked Pearl Harbor or the Germans who killed innocent Jews. Technology as a weapon is like a cycle that spreads great things, but also can be capable of spreading death at a rapid rate. The only catalyst needed to start this cycle is the arrogance and simple disregard for human life that all humanity seems to have against each other. If peace were an accepted part of our world and technology would never be used to harm people then it would be a wonderful thing, but this novel shows the nature of humans causes it to be used for the wrong reasons.
Vonnegut showed a very anti-technology outlook throughout the entire story, but he also shows the error in human beliefs. The quote by Minton helps to show this because Minton wants to show the people of San Lorenzo that dieing for your country is not such a glorious thing because the 100 martyrs who died were killed defending their leaders beliefs in democracy which is just a word that can be used to convince soldiers that they are dieing for a just cause. Vonnegut questions the beliefs of people by using the fake Bokononist religion to ask why democracy really is so important. Most people on the island believed in the Bokononist religion, but it was all just a fake religion that was used to try and make order on the island by outlawing it. I believe that Vonnegut uses the Bokononist religion to make readers question what they believe in. Is the United States really a democracy? How would a soldier know if he were dieing for democracy when he gave his life for this country? These questions could seem controversial to some people, but really how much do we honestly know about what’s happening in our government? The United States is supposed to be the land of the free and the home of the brave, but how does someone know when they are really free? “None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.” This quote by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe helps show the point Vonnegut is trying to get across with governments and their beliefs. People don’t have to be free or have a democracy as long as they can be convinced they are free. The quote is both scary and also seems realistic. How do Americans know they are not getting the wool pulled over their eyes when a president says they are free or tells soldiers they’re fighting for democracy and freedom?
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