Day 18: Manifesto (Shiv Kohli)

George Saunders has written a manifesto about his organization, People Reluctant to Kill for an Abstraction (PRKA). He declares that this organization has become a powerful force around the globe and breaks down what occurs daily for the organization. Starting at nine am in the morning, he explains what transpires in the organization for each hour following that. Along with this, Saunders also breaks down his organization’s goals into phases and at what time each phase is in effect. Each phase is based on the amounts of heinous crimes that PRKA commits. It becomes very clear that no vulgar acts are committed and that is what the organization stands for. Saunders expands on the idea of being a member in his organization by listing off things that “part-time members” do that also help his platform. He goes into further detail by describing certain actions that have occurred all over the world to show how far-spreading PRKA is. He then concludes his manifesto by describing who his members are. He writes “Many of us have trouble sleeping and lie awake at night, worrying about something catastrophic befalling someone we love. We rise in the morning with no plans to convert anyone via beating, humiliation, or invasion. To tell the truth, we are tired. We work. We would just like some peace and quiet…” Saunders is basically saying that those who are apart of his organization are simply good people who don’t want to all the chaos that he describes in his “phases”. Saunders wrote this manifesto as a call out to those who are also in the same position as him and reassures them that they are not alone.