The American political system is presently portrayed as a force to be reckoned with, for ideally, it represents power, money, and democracy. American politics supposedly stands for the people, and for the greatest, most advanced country in the world, and few can imagine otherwise. But author Bruce Sterling can, and writes about it in his newest novel Distraction. In his futuristic America, political agendas are divided among sixteen different parties, the Air Force is morally and financially bankrupt, abductions of political players are common, scientific research is a pawn for negotiations, half of the world is underwater, unemployment is at an all time high, and ego power trips by low-level governors and mental breakdowns by senators are the everyday norm. In 2044, the political system is nothing short of an embarrassment as Sterling deviously exposes what the future holds for politics and everyday citizens—a future that may be already upon us, a future in which it is no longer “any fun to be an American citizen” (307).

            After successfully running a campaign and getting a no name man elected as Senator of Massachusetts, “political spin doctor” Oscar Valparaiso decides that he wants to “make a difference” so he attempts to rescue the Buna National Collaboratory, a huge federally funded lab “housing tens of thousands of genetic samples, gathered from around the planet”, from financial ruin and power hungry politicians (33, 25). Despite Oscar’s noble cause, Sterling simply uses this scenario to reveal how just when we thought political players couldn’t get any lower, they do. In this story, their shallowness is exposed in relation to their use and abuse of the research facility, a sanctuary to extinct animals and a secure venue for researchers. However, the lab has been and will continue to be used as a political pawn, revealing how even pure, scientific research is controlled by political liaisons, and thus, the studies aren’t so pure, for they are essentially controlled by interest groups. Because of the conflicting agendas and philosophies, Sterling very clearly shows how science and politics can never function as one, for disaster is imminent, and yet he suggests that in the future, these two important discourses will be inherently united, for each in its own accord, will represent power. Sterling very clearly highlights this catch-22, for in the future, “normalcy for America” will be “technological change”, which obviously can’t happen without science and research (408). And yet, “politicians can’t control the flow of technical knowledge. They’ll exploit it no matter what…” (249). Therefore, where does that leave citizens of the future? In Sterling’s estimation, they become a powerless, disenfranchised, disconnected group of people.

Further, Sterling instills a sense of fear into his readers, for in his story the government is oblivious to a variety of issues, such as an ongoing neuroscience experiment which permanently alters the brains of participants, along with numerous internal and infrastructural problems that are being ignored. Rather than attempt to solve these problems, the President dedicates his time to initiating a war with a powerless, nonthreatening country, when what resembles a civil war is occurring on U.S. soil. Further, while the neuroscience experiment is staying under wraps, Oscar is being ousted for his love affair with the director of the lab. Readers won’t be able to help but notice the irony in the situation, for what is really more newsworthy?

Through Oscar, a character who Sterling clearly and intentionally created as heroic and admirable, Sterling repeatedly confronts a range of issues and scenarios that characterize and corrupt politics, a critical foundation of American society, which has quickly crumbled in the foreshadowed future. Sterling also uses Oscar as a way to explore if one man really can make a difference, challenging the tried and true theory that one man can. Oscar is a character in whom people believe, for as a former employee reveals, “Things really happen around you Oscar. You’re a mover and a shaker, you matter. The country needs you. People trust you…I’m young, I need a real future. Fight the good, fight for us” (217). Sterling writes, “Politics had become the new career. The challenge. The cause”, and he couldn’t be more correct (21). And Oscar, one equipped to handle the challenges and fight for the commendable causes and stabilize the country, is constantly critiqued for being the byproduct of a genetic experiment. When he isn’t facing these challenges, he fears for his life, as the Net now function as an anonymous way to hire hit men, several of whom are after Oscar for challenging the governor. Apparently, free speech is simply a product of the past. Perhaps unrealistically, Oscar survives, yet this is also a love story as Sterling unsuccessfully attempts to blend genres, but not after encountering his fair share of obstacles, which have come to characterize life in futuristic America.

Through these scenarios which are described throughout Distraction, mature and insightful readers are able to recognize the grim prediction for the future of politics. Embedded in humorous situations and witty sarcasm, Sterling clearly encourages readers to understand the absurdity of politics and to question the role of politicians in our everyday lives, for as he writes, “You don’t own people just because you helped them to survive” (371). His attitude toward fraudulent and hypocritical officials is evident, and yet these characters aren’t punished in his story, despite the hopes of his reading audience, for in his world, there really is no justice. As is true of today, the powerful survive and thrive, and the rest of America struggles onward. Thus, Sterling isn’t unwarranted when he writes, that “America has lost it”, yet that’s assuming America ever had it to begin with (17).