1. If you were a citizen of Omelas, would you stay or would you walk? Please explain and justify your decision.
If I were a citizen of Omelas, I would stay because it would be the only life I’ve known and I wouldn’t be courageous enough to take a stand and walk away. Though the honourable decision would be to fight against the inhumane and cruel treatment of one person for this one utopia, I believe that humans are selfish, and we must meet our own needs and fulfill our own happiness before we can help those around us. When helping someone compromises our own happiness, most of us would put ourselves before others. We become so absorbed in our own lives and relationships, that it becomes easy to forget that there are those who are less fortunate. Even if I were to see the impoverished child suffer and live in misery with my own eyes, I would probably learn to forget the image or accept it because that would be what everyone else was doing, and society shapes who we are. If we are raised believing that this is the norm, then why would we rebel? Who would sacrifice their own happiness and bliss for one child? If I were truly happy and were not capable of feeling remorse in this utopia, then I would not be willing to give up my “perfect” life and walk off into the unknown.
We are constantly shown images and hear about those who are less fortunate in the news. Some people in Third World countries and even in our own city don’t have enough to eat, a place to sleep, an education, and good healthcare. I feel guilty for taking the simple things in life for granted, and it is bothersome to me when I reflect on this, that we just accept this fact and continue living our lives. Initially, we may feel sorrow and pain for those who live in poverty, and do our part by making donations, but it clearly isn’t enough, and all too soon, we forget. Viewing Le Guin’s story in perspective to real life made me realize that I would stay. This is a harsh reality, but I guess knowing what we are more inclined to do is far better than being ignorant or blind.
Hi Christine,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the honest and thoughtful response. You highlight a number of important issues raised by Le Guin's short story. Based on the way we live our lives, it is almost ridiculous to say that we would walk away.
I would like to challenge something you said in your analysis. You seem to assume that walking away would be the ethical and 'honourable' course of action. However, in this situation (given the 'conditions' Le Guin lays out for us), would walking away achieve anything more than relieving you of your own guilt about the situation? How would it help the child? In similar situations (in ur society, for example), wouldn't it be better - more ethical - to stay around about try to address the problem? Wouldn't this solve more than just rejecting the entire system and giving up?
Also, I urge you to be careful about basing your decision upon preconceptions of 'human nature'. It can be dangerous to say that, just because most people act a certain way right now, that is the way people will and should act forever. In ethical dilemmas, we are looking for how one OUGHT to act - rather than people people tend to act in the present.
- Patrick