Substinative, Ender's Game

This was a fun reread. I especially enjoy the (albeit brief) discussions about the internet based government Ender's siblings decide to take over. The internet seems to have the ability to allow for a far more direct democracy than we currently enjoy--the entire country, or even the entire world could debate, discuss, and decide upon issues both large and small. I'm not sure how practical the whole idea would be (not to mention, without representatives to elect I would be out of a job), but it sure would be fund.

Another major theme within the novel is the idea of a balance of empathy and ruthlessness. Peter is seen as too violent and closed to have the empathy necessary to understand the bugs in order to defeat them. Valentine is too understanding, she is unwilling to kill, and Ender, of course, is the perfect balance between the twain--Violent when necessary, but capable of understanding his opponent. Interestingly, the book also seems to suggest that humanity fall more in line with Peter--more interested in destroying the bugs outright than understanding them in the slightest. I find this especially interesting since one must assume that humanity contains a mixed cast of characters, some like peter, some like ender, and some like valentine. Yet the result Card portrays is not a balanced society like ender, but an extraordinarily violent one more like peter.