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Phanteur, whole no. 3, July 1946

Page 2

2     PHANTEUR     2

FANDOM AS A WAY OF LIFE*

"Doc" Lowndes stated the essence of all this when he wrote that Fandom "is not a completely unorthodox and different way of life." It follows from that statement that fans must mix into non-fan affairs if anything resembling a complete way of life is to be achieved.
First, let us consider those elements in Fandom which contribute to a sane way of life. It seems to me that The Fantasy Sense, with whatever connotations you choose to impute to the term, maybe be accepted as the principal, and perhaps the only, factor which differentiates fans from non-fans. This Sense at its best serves as a very satisfactory sort of glass through which to observe the doings of that interesting majority whose members either never developed this special Sense, or else lost it with the approach of maturity. It also may serve as a useful guide in determining the direction of a fan's non-fan activities. It makes a more logical and liberal basis for making decisions than, for example, a state Church, or a major political party. It is sounder primarily because its possessors are enabled to perceive more clearly than most, many of "The Worlds of If," and to compare these Worlds with the one one in which we live, observing these other manifestations of multi-dimensional space-time with a critical eye, to the end that our own segment of the continuum may be improved and strengthened.
The advent of the atomic bomb has changed, in some degree, the acceptability of the arguments for and against the establishment of an expanded Slan Center, destined to serve as a sort of "arsenal of progress" while the rest of the world pursues a course of senseless self-destruction. The bomb has made the idea somewhat more attractive, since the means of self-destruction have been so greatly augmented. On the other hand, the same bomb has made the actual long-continued existence of such a project, practically an impossible dream, since such an establishment would be a prime target of any would-be agressor--and with the bomb, it would be a comparitively easy matter to destroy the Center with a single blow.
However, neither of these arguments alters the fundamental weaknesses of the plan. The whole idea is one which any intelligent and thoughtful fan in unlikely to take seriously, if he devotes real thought to it. As an exercise in mental gymnastics, it is all to the good, of course. In any case, such a plan implies a degree of gloomy pessimism usually associated with such professional "viewers with alarm" as elderly dyspeptics whose milk-and-bread diet has gone sour on them. And if the bomb has augmented the bases for such fears, it has also opened the way to great advances.
The "Arsenal of Progress" idea also implies that fans, and others with very similar qualities, are more level-headed, more progressive, more interested in human welfare as opposed to individual gain, and more willing to co-operate for the general welfare, than are other equally intelligent groups. It also implies a sensitivity to and and an understanding of slight changes, before they become apparent to the general public. I will agree that fans possess more genuine altruistic interest in future human happiness than is common to similar groups with other interests, and that there is an unusual degree of sensitivity to social and cultural change. As to progress, fans can't even agree on a definition for that; and they have already demonstrated a rather highly developed opposition to efforts to promote genuine co-operation (through the writing of such articles as this, for example) the quasi-success ofthe NFFF not withstanding. And I've never known any fan to make s a serious claim of being level-headed, although I recall that one did once make the wholly meaningless statement that he was "more normal" than most others. I forget whether rum or gin was responsible. And, finally, alertness and sensitivity to change are prime requisites of a good soldier, of whom there were a very great many in the late War.

Just why fans are so prone to look on the dark side, and to moan over the lost opportunities of our time is hard to say. If anything is to be learned from history, it is this; that history is cyclic; that is, it tends to repeat itself within broad limits. Moreover, up to now, each crest in the historic cycle has represented some kind of an advance over those preceding it. In ear-

*Revised from original version in PHANNY for the Spring, 1944 FAPA Mailing.

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2 PHANTEUR 2 FANDOM AS A WAY OF LIFE* "Doc" Lowndes stated the essence of all this when he wrote that Fandom "is not a completely unorthodox and different way of life." It follows from that statement that fans must mix into non-fan affairs if anything resembling a complete way of life is to be achieved. First, let us consider those elements in Fandom which contribute to a sane way of life. It seems to me that The Fantasy Sense, with whatever connotations you choose to impute to the term, maybe be accepted as the principal, and perhaps the only, factor which differentiates fans from non-fans. This Sense at its best serves as a very satisfactory sort of glass through which to observe the doings of that interesting majority whose members either never developed this special Sense, or else lost it with the approach of maturity. It also may serve as a useful guide in determining the direction of a fan's non-fan activities. It makes a more logical and liberal basis for making decisions than, for example, a state Church, or a major political party. It is sounder primarily because its possessors are enabled to perceive more clearly than most, many of "The Worlds of If," and to compare these Worlds with the one one in which we live, observing these other manifestations of multi-dimensional space-time with a critical eye, to the end that our own segment of the continuum may be improved and strengthened. The advent of the atomic bomb has changed, in some degree, the acceptability of the arguments for and against the establishment of an expanded Slan Center, destined to serve as a sort of "arsenal of progress" while the rest of the world pursues a course of senseless self-destruction. The bomb has made the idea somewhat more attractive, since the means of self-destruction have been so greatly augmented. On the other hand, the same bomb has made the actual long-continued existence of such a project, practically an impossible dream, since such an establishment would be a prime target of any would-be agressor--and with the bomb, it would be a comparitively easy matter to destroy the Center with a single blow. However, neither of these arguments alters the fundamental weaknesses of the plan. The whole idea is one which any intelligent and thoughtful fan in unlikely to take seriously, if he devotes real thought to it. As an exercise in mental gymnastics, it is all to the good, of course. In any case, such a plan implies a degree of gloomy pessimism usually associated with such professional "viewers with alarm" as elderly dyspeptics whose milk-and-bread diet has gone sour on them. And if the bomb has augmented the bases for such fears, it has also opened the way to great advances. The "Arsenal of Progress" idea also implies that fans, and others with very similar qualities, are more level-headed, more progressive, more interested in human welfare as opposed to individual gain, and more willing to co-operate for the general welfare, than are other equally intelligent groups. It also implies a sensitivity to and and an understanding of slight changes, before they become apparent to the general public. I will agree that fans possess more genuine altruistic interest in future human happiness than is common to similar groups with other interests, and that there is an unusual degree of sensitivity to social and cultural change. As to progress, fans can't even agree on a definition for that; and they have already demonstrated a rather highly developed opposition to efforts to promote genuine co-operation (through the writing of such articles as this, for example) the quasi-success ofthe NFFF not withstanding. And I've never known any fan to make s a serious claim of being level-headed, although I recall that one did once make the wholly meaningless statement that he was "more normal" than most others. I forget whether rum or gin was responsible. And, finally, alertness and sensitivity to change are prime requisites of a good soldier, of whom there were a very great many in the late War. Just why fans are so prone to look on the dark side, and to moan over the lost opportunities of our time is hard to say. If anything is to be learned from history, it is this; that history is cyclic; that is, it tends to repeat itself within broad limits. Moreover, up to now, each crest in the historic cycle has represented some kind of an advance over those preceding it. In ear- *Revised from original version in PHANNY for the Spring, 1944 FAPA Mailing.