Have You Ever...?

Okay, I'm just going to propose this, and then I'll probably run and hide. No, just kidding, I'll stick around to read what you have to say.

So I read a lot of dystopian novels. Not as many as some of you, obviously. I've written a dystopian novel. And as I was reading a few months ago (I won't say what book), I wondered something: Is this really that bad? Is this government really wrong? Maybe some of what they enforce is actually good...

So today, I'm playing Devil's Advocate. Think of the last dystopian novel you read. Tell us what it was (Mockingjay, anyone?) and try to see life from the point of view of the other side. Can you see why they rose to power in the first place? Do you see any good they're doing/did? Are there aspects that actually protect the people, provide for their basic needs?

I know that the governments in dystopian lit are usually portrayed as evil. But I'm wondering if you've ever stopped to think that maybe the evil sprouted from something good. Or that the entire government isn't all bad.

So have you ever thought of the other side?