Omelas, a city filled with such joy and life. Being perfectly honest at first I could not see any resemblance of this city to our society. Part of the reason very well may be that I associate joy with sunshine, but my main reason was my thought that nothing could exist that was so wonderful without some sort of catch. Oh, and is there ever a catch or cost as some would prefer to say. A child locked in a room never to see sunlight, play with other children, and experience the joy of Omelas. What society would do this? Certainly not our society, our very comfortable way of life. Comfort and joy, the two words that really got me to understand the comparison of our society to that of Omelas. Our comfortable society has come at a cost.
When reading the story I was disgusted by the citizens of Omelas not helping the boy, ignoring him, not even granting him the chance of experiencing life the way they did. But the child, dirty and unintelligible, disgusted the people of Omelas. How could you be disgusted by some one in so much need? Unfortunately our society is quite often disgusted with people in need when they are not publicized like the children we see in commercials. I realize that’s a pretty strong statement and may offend some people but I want you to think of the people living on the streets. I know I have definitely have avoided those people and I have watched others do the same. Afraid to make eye contact with them because they might talk to me or worse ask for money, which leads me to feel guilty if I don’t give them any. I definitely don't want to talk to these people, and most of the time I notice people, myself included, walk around these people as if they are just lifeless obstacles that need to be avoided.
Our society is definitely not proud of these people living on the streets but nor do we really ever focus on the problem. If you pick up a travel guide for Vancouver you’re not going to see the homeless and the addicts. There will be beautiful pictures of scenery, maybe some nice architecture, certainly not a person starving in our well-developed nation. Wouldn’t it be better if they were locked away and we didn’t have to see them? That's a harsh statement and I would never want that to happen but it sure makes you at least feel some sort of compassion for the people, maybe anger at me for suggesting such a ludicrous idea. Maybe we don’t physically lock these people away, but mentally do we acknowledge there existence? Do we allow these people to take part in what we may consider everyday life? No, we may acknowledge these people in certain situations occasionally, but do we actually care. Here’s some money to keep you quiet, here’s some food to make me feel less guilty. Just as the people of Omelas have come to accept the cost of the child, our society has come to accept that there are homeless people everywhere.
There are exceptions which need to be taken into account. There are people in both societies who feel something, maybe along the lines of guilt, but something that makes them want to walk away. Walk away from the ideas that people suffering should be an everyday norm that is just accepted.Walk away from a lavish lifestyle, when they know it's something not everyone can achieve. We read about it in Omelas as the people who walk away from the city. In our society it may mean living a radical lifestyle of helping others. Giving up your house, your car, and other comforts to provide for others. Which most of society would view as crazy. Then that person who has given up everything would be separated from society as well.
The lesson I have learned from both Omelas and our society is that we are both societies seeking comfort. Our comfort comes at a cost, that cost being a good life for other people. Whether we choose to recognize it or not, we go on living our lives with a child locked in the cellar.
Our society is definitely not proud of these people living on the streets but nor do we really ever focus on the problem. If you pick up a travel guide for Vancouver you’re not going to see the homeless and the addicts. There will be beautiful pictures of scenery, maybe some nice architecture, certainly not a person starving in our well-developed nation. Wouldn’t it be better if they were locked away and we didn’t have to see them? That's a harsh statement and I would never want that to happen but it sure makes you at least feel some sort of compassion for the people, maybe anger at me for suggesting such a ludicrous idea. Maybe we don’t physically lock these people away, but mentally do we acknowledge there existence? Do we allow these people to take part in what we may consider everyday life? No, we may acknowledge these people in certain situations occasionally, but do we actually care. Here’s some money to keep you quiet, here’s some food to make me feel less guilty. Just as the people of Omelas have come to accept the cost of the child, our society has come to accept that there are homeless people everywhere.
There are exceptions which need to be taken into account. There are people in both societies who feel something, maybe along the lines of guilt, but something that makes them want to walk away. Walk away from the ideas that people suffering should be an everyday norm that is just accepted.Walk away from a lavish lifestyle, when they know it's something not everyone can achieve. We read about it in Omelas as the people who walk away from the city. In our society it may mean living a radical lifestyle of helping others. Giving up your house, your car, and other comforts to provide for others. Which most of society would view as crazy. Then that person who has given up everything would be separated from society as well.
The lesson I have learned from both Omelas and our society is that we are both societies seeking comfort. Our comfort comes at a cost, that cost being a good life for other people. Whether we choose to recognize it or not, we go on living our lives with a child locked in the cellar.
