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The Dirty Islanders
by Dee Throwaway
Format: Paperback
Publication date: 4th October 2011
ISBN: 978-1-908477-51-4
Price: €11.50
The Dirty Islanders are a profligate people who live on the island of Makeover. They have been thrown out of the Society of States because of their dirty habits. The slow-growing cold-water corals off the island are in danger from the pollution and the sea water is acidifying and endangering marine life. Most of the islanders have a reasonable income. Many have a throw-away mentality. Dirt accumulates but no one wants to pay for its removal. The islanders are frustrated and drink alcohol to avoid confronting the ever-accumulating plastic. A saviour, David Makeforce, suggests turning muck into money. He must build a society with selfesteem and social responsibility. Respect for science and the environment is built into the education system where young men and women are shown the dangers of alcohol excess and drugs. As inefficiency and garrulousness are swept aside, Makeforce begins the task of education through family support dynamics, discipline and cloud computing! Local government is pressed into action for enterprise, proper planning and sustainable development with recycling, dirt reduction and alcohol control.
Meanwhile the island government thinks globally and invests in manufacturing, research and the green economy! Tax breaks are given for efficient use of energy. Energy management systems are installed in homes and offices, creating efficiency and jobs. Money starts to flow and under new management, an ambitious, aspiring low-carbon island is born!
Books Ireland has reviewed this book and declared it to be a parable of our times with good design and with literary value.
Introduction
The Dirty Islanders live on the island of Makeover. They are a hybrid happy-go-lucky, profligate but interesting people whose lineage has been formed from European and African immigrants. They thought that they were important members of the Society of States. Now they have been humiliated. They have been thrown out of the Society because of their dirty throw-away habits and their failure to make an environmental clean-up a legal requirement for the island. This story describes the lives of the islanders amid an ever growing cauldron of plastic, graffiti and inefficiency. New money has given the islanders a reasonable income, many are wealthy, some are very wealthy, no one is hungry yet they feel like losers. For most of the islanders, self-interest seems more important than the national interest. No one wants to pay for utilities while a staggering greed is endemic in the wealthy. The islanders know the cost of everything and the value of nothing. They drink alcohol to numb their feelings of inferiority. A saviour with a deep social conscience uncovers the cause of their habits and begins to change these not least by turning muck into money! He promises that responsibility will accompany authority. He must build a society with values, social responsibility and an ability for tough negotiation to get what is best for the island so it is no longer seen as a soft touch, by greedy exploiters. Credible structures must be established, with respect for a radically reformed government, and creativity, job satisfaction and self-esteem nurtured. Garrulousness, cronyism and inefficiency must be swept aside and competence must become more acceptable than incompetence. With a dynamic leadership the island defies mediocrity and looks outwards and onwards.
