Robert Ennever | Bendemere Books

LOVERIDGE... and they call this progress

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Published on Wednesday, 15 June 2016 16:53

I dedicate this book to all those who suffer adversity and strive to overcome it; to those who believe this world could be a better place and devote their lives to the service of humanity; to those perceptive enough to see through the evil of political propaganda and corruption and who seek to correct it.

As I grow older I find myself increasingly puzzled by two diametrically opposed aspects of the human character. On one hand our species is endowed with a brain capable of resolving almost all the challenges confronting our world. We possess marvellous technologies, from space exploration to micro surgery, from electronic wizardry to new means of harnessing renewable energy. With the Internet we have access to the stored knowledge of present and past civilizations; in a fraction of a second we can be spectators of events around the globe.

On the other hand, we live in an era where the individual is losing his identity, submerged in a consumer driven economy which perceives continual growth as its Holy Grail. Daily we are faced with famine, pestilence, natural disasters, a warming planet, mass migrations of oppressed people, and the supreme idiocy of wars waged by fanatics. Corruption is rampant, ethical ideals ignored, the under-privileged exploited. Unlimited population increase is encouraged by those who seek to gain advantage from larger markets for their products; particularly pervasive and corrosive are the erosion of hope and despair for the future which have so weakened our young people’s immunity that they are susceptible to the epidemic of ‘Ice’ and the other drugs ravaging our nation.

All of the above is now prevalent and regarded as the inevitable price of progress The result is a society unsuitable for its inhabitants, a society where many young people cannot see a purpose and lack direction in their life; a society where it is becoming increasingly acceptable to rely on drugs and alcohol to cope with the stresses of existence. How sad it is that, with all the skills we possess and the benefit of past experience, we lack the wisdom to learn from history’s mistakes and we repeat the follies of countless generations as, like lemmings, we hurtle blindly towards disaster.

In my novel, LOVERIDGE “…and they call this progress?”, I have attempted to address some of these issues, chronicling the effects changing circumstances dictate and how the various characters react. While the events and persons depicted are entirely fictional, I hope it may give readers pause to consider where we, as a species, are heading. Above all else I hope it may entertain.

Robert Ennever

15th June, 2016