Ode to Dystopian Lit

I was going to make a speech, but speaking in front of people makes me insanely nervous, so I shan't. which is oldspeak for shall not. So here is a poem for the best English class that has ever existed on this planet. or any other planet.

Dear Dystopian Lit,

How do I describe thee?

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day

JK LAWLS

You are nothing like a summer's day.

Because dystopian lit is like a raging hurricane

Sometimes we're all calm and cooperative

Developing the unity of the commune

Sometimes we freak out and yell at each other

and roll our eyes and get all riled up

about stuff that we're not even allowed to talk about in other classes.

All of our plans,

to run screaming into Room 101 saying "SHE DID IT! TAKE HER!"

to planning our Alpacalypse party

and making awesome T-shirts to celebrate

to the neutral side of the room

to Dex's disappearance and our prediction that he turned capitalist.

From arguments about whether or not we would eat the cat

to Saunders' drowning baby impersonation

to watching YouTube Videos in class:
Where you at BALAKAY

And Kittens: Inspired by kittens

from haunted bathroom stalls

to jokes that we maybe shouldn't have told.

from the R-rated movies that haven't landed us in the Doings

YET.

Those awkward moments of watching Idiocracy

and wondering if we are on the Truman Show

and laughing at Children of Men,

even though it's not funny.

Sharing Ben's status updates,

we're happy he's not dead

and coloring posters and writing sex all over the board.

Stefani's mysterious tardies

and Dex and Jonny's anarchist plots,

Katie's weird movie-viewing positions

and Pac-Man in Vegas.

The ceremony is awks to the max

and some things in life are like totes null.

Needless to say it's been an interesting semester.

Let's get emotional for second.

Grab a tissue so you can wipe your tears

We won't see each other for the rest of the year.

But in case we do, passing in the halls

Please wave, say hi, I'll miss you all.

If you think about it,

we were all like guinea pigs in this big experiment called Dystopian Lit.

To be honest, I don't know exactly what I'll do next semester without ya'll.

I won't have anyone to argue with

or to dicuss our impending doom as a society of capitalists.

So as we are about to part our separate ways,

I just want you to know:

Dystopian lit was great

Our bond was true

I'm just really glad

I got to spend it with you (guys).



Soooooo that was long and I'm hoping you read it because it was, if I do say so myself, a masterpiece in poetry. I may copyright it.

But really- as Fall Out Boy sings, "Thanks for the memories, even though they weren't so great." PAUSE.

I revise that and say, "Thanks for memories, they were the freakin best I've ever had."

What do a camel, spinach, and a wheelbarrow have in common?

Answer: They're all words! I think that wins the award for worst joke ever. It wasn't even funny. I'm sorry I put you through that.

Anywhos, a picture is worth a thousand words. Actions speak louder than words. Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.

All phrases that we use everyday, all composed of words, regarding words.

Just think about it. Words are awesome. Words are impactful. (It's a real word- who knew?) Where would we be without words? We'd all be like the teacher in Charlie Brown. WA wa wa WA WA wa. It would be a strange, strange world.

Whilst reading The Handmaid's Tale, I couldn't help but ponder words like Offred does. There are so many words in this world. Hypothetically, if you put all of the words in a country, it would probably be overpopulated. Think about it. Every year Merriam Webster Dictionary adds words to the dictionary. I have an unabridged dictionary at home that might be as old as I am and it's massive. I can't even imagine how ginormous it must be now (fact: that word was added a while back).

The interesting thing is that Offred spends her free time contemplating words because she has nothing else to do. Imagine if the only thing you could do besides reproduce and go to the market was think about words.
Life would suck. But just the though of words or just the act of putting words into motion in Scrabble is exhilarating for her. I just find it fascinating.

I like the line "I think of the word, relish. I could eat a horse" (281). Besides the fact that I'm super hungry right now, (Like my stomach is going grrABDedfodjfio9k) I like it because I guess I never think about words just to think about them. Especially when I'm hungry and preoccupied, I'm thinking only about food and not about words like relish. Although relish is a food, so I guess that's ok.

Consider this:
"Neither of us says the word love, not once. It would be tempting fate; it would be romance, bad luck" (270). Have you ever defined love as bad luck? I know I haven't. In our society, love is the highest achievement, even more so if someone loves you back. We say "I love you" like it's nothing, but love is giving part of youself away, so perhaps Offred is on to something there.

Sorry this post was lacking in wit and organization, I hope we can still be friends after this. Whatever words you ponder in your spare time is none of my business, but do remember this: Nolite te bastardes carborundorum.

Mmm Babies

Heads up- 26 days until the Alpacalypse. There were so many things I wanted to do with my life, and it seems I'm running out of time. SIGH the end is near.

Anyway, about the Handmaid's Tale. It is MESSED UP. It's like surrogacy to the extreme, without the rights afforded to surrogate mothers now.

This is a baby. It's funny that this is the thing that Serena Joy and the other Wives want so badly. Just look at it. I mean, it's kind of cute and babies do funny things, and hey, if you can get someone else to have it for you, all the better! But is it really worth ruining someone else's life by basically enslaving them to achieve your prized baby?
I think not! The level that this society takes it is unreal. I am all for surrogacy, but as long as the mothers having babies for others get rights, everything is alright. Here is an article.  In India, commerical surrogacy is a huge business but there is some coming legislation to set conditions on it. These legislations don't necessarily spell out rights for surrogate mothers, though.

If Serena Joy needs a baby, she should go out and find one. Go to the baby store or something. Or pay Offred to have a baby or don't keep her in her room and make her avoid all contact with people. Don't rip her from her existing family. Gosh, I just get angry about it. Women deserve more rights than they've been given in this society. WHAT ON EARTH HAPPENED?

When the time comes for me to have a baby, if that time comes, most likely I will adopt. Or find a surrogate. And you know what? I'll be nice to my surrogate. I will bake her cookies and hug her and thank her for holding a child in her womb for 9 months just so she can give her baby up to me. Unlike Serena Joy, I will not totally degrade my surrogate or be creepy about it. Because I am better than Serena Joy. She's a meaniepants.

Respect surrogates because they're willing (or not willing like the handmaids) to have your baby. If not for the surrogates, do it for the children. Do it for the babies. Babies rock.

At least England has scones and British accents and whatnot.

…

What can I say about Children of Men?

It kind of made me look to this. I was stroking my non-existent beard and wondering what on earth was going on.

It was weird. It was confusing. It was like Inception but much more ominous. But being completely honest, it kind of freaked me out. There was that whole theme that humankind will lose humane principles in times of massive disaster. Although I don’t think that humankind will ever come close to losing the ability to reproduce altogether, the response of the people could be quite possible depending on the disaster we’re facing.

And hope. Gosh, I really do like the idea of hope. Even when all seems lost in a world plagued by destruction and dreadlocked terrorists, Key is a shred of hope that there could be a solution. To be cliché, she is the beacon of light in a sea of darkness. Ah, how poetic.

Speaking of the sea, what on earth was that last scene? It was… goodness gracious I don’t even think there are words fit to describe how I felt after watching it. I was sad because Theo died. And it wasn’t even like BAM he’s dead, it was that slow, painful type of dying where he bleeds out in that dreadful boat in the middle of the freaking ocean or whatever. It just made me more anxious than I needed to be at that point.

And the boat, Tomorrow. That boat. What was it? Where did it take Key? Was it the Human Project? I DON’T KNOW because it was a cliffhanger! Personally, I don’t think the Human Project exists. I think may have started as this rumor and the idea that something like that exists sparked hope and gave people something to live for and fight for. I do think it was a boat to save people, I just don’t think it was the Human Project.

And the soundtrack at the end? What is the director trying to do, give me an emotional breakdown? I was already distraught that Theo died and everything seemed kind of hopeless, but then I was feeling pretty good that Key looked like she was about to be saved, and then I was so confused because I heard the noises of children playing and laughing and squealing.

Somehow, I think people began having children again. The name of the ship, Tomorrow, was a symbol that tomorrow is a brighter day, that it tomorrow comes to save us from the dreariness that is today. I don’t believe everyone was infertile in the first place either. It’s very probable that a lot of people started having their miscarriages, then people were afraid so they stopped trying, thus the lack of babies. But with Key, they were inspired to try again, and HOORAY, more babies were being born again and the world is a happy place, even though all that still exists is England.

For now.

Llamas are way better than alpacas anyway.

Yep. You heard it here first: The alpacalypse is coming. Better shelter yourself from the imminent alpaca attacks. Hide your children, hide your wife, cuz they're eating everybody.

But actually, let's talk about Hurricane Sandy. I know everybody else and their brother are going to write their blog about it, but it's just so gosh darn relevant and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to conform.

In Life as We Knew It, clearly the moon crashing out of orbit caused some dramatic environmental changes like the massive tidal waves and volcanic eruptions. When I first saw the news of Hurricane Sandy, I was like WHAAAT? because that's exactly what I imagine happening if our world came to this point.

First comes panic. I was freaked out just watching the evacuations and hearing the predictions for the storm, even though I was really far away from the areas in danger. I would watch the waether channel religiously to hear any updates and of course, to see Jim Cantore stand out in the rain. Oh, and the guy running in the horse hat wasn't all bad either.

So I read this article, which tells you a healthy response to the hurricane. You should probably read it in the case that you're ever stranded in a hurricane situation. And just to be safe, I found this one too. Anywho, the USA Today article tells about the reactions of some folks in the hurricane. All about how they tried to preserve their water supply, tried to maintain warmth, etc. Which sounds a lot like Miranda's family.

But one thing that stood out to me is that "people north of 40th street who still had power reached out to take in people below 40th street who had lost theirs." That doesn't sound like the characters at all. This article is all about the teamwork and community of the people affected and I sit here wondering, would I do the same? Maybe it's because the Hurricane is an isolated incident, but maybe it's because the author underestimates the power human kindness.

And perhaps we'll never know how anybody would react in a situation like in Life as We Knew It. But I'll tell you now, when the alpacalypse comes around, it's every man for himself!

Broccoli: One of My 2nd Favorite Foods.

                So… how about the feed? I’m a little dumbstruck, maybe due in part to the less than stellar language in the book, but also due to the fact that the ending was, for lack of a better phrase, like meg null. The corporations let her die. GOODNESS GRACIOUS they just let her die and didn’t even try to do anything about it. I’m a little steamed about it. In fact, I’m steaming like a floret of freshly cooked broccoli. Yeah, I just went there and used a food simile. WHAT NOW?

                But more on the point of feeds. Clearly the corporations marketed it as a beneficial tool for convenience and education and technology at your fingertips. If they had advertised its flaws, they wouldn’t have sold any microchips to begin with. I guess it is handy in looking quick things up, like using a computer without having to boot up your actual computer. For education purposes, I’m opposed simply because it doesn’t encourage real learning when you can search for whatever facts or information you need at any given moment.

Even though my feelings about the feed aren’t superbly positive (we’re like frenemies), should I still resist it if our society reaches that point in the future?

Sadly, I’m not so sure I would. Once the feed is installed, I would probably adapt and even begin to enjoy the things that it does for me. If I’m looking for a specific book or piece of clothing or knick knack and it knows exactly what I’m talking about, power to it! It saves me a lot of time and energy. If I can take pictures with my mind, I won’t have to worry about capturing it on my camera, because let’s face it, I’ve got shaky hands so most of my pictures come out blurry anyway.

Besides its apparent benefits, it’s always hard to go against the flow. If a fish tries to swim against the current, guess what? It will probably die or try to jump over the water and get eaten by a bear or something. Personally, I don’t really want to get eaten by the metaphorical bear which is the control of corporations. And as Violet’s situation demonstrated, if you fight the big guys, you lose.

She chose to fight the feed and she ended up paralyzed and brain dead. Just from that vivid experience, I would probably stray from resisting the feed. Of course I’m going to value my life above fighting a losing battle against the feed. I’m only human. I’m also not as brave or as committed to overturning authority as she was, so I’m going to need a lot of preparation if I want to prevent the feed or fight it if it arrives. Maybe there’s a course in overthrowing corporate monopoly on the human mind. I wonder if they offer that at COD.

I Ain't Scared of no Goats.

“’The thing that is in Room 101 is the worst thing in the world…The worst thing in the world,’

said O’Brien, ‘varies from individual to individual. It may be burial alive, or death by fire, or by

drowning, or by impalement, or fifty other deaths. There are cases where it is some quite trivial thing, not even fatal.’” (1984, p.283)

 

Fear has this creepy way of taking hold of us. There is no feeling like it, and no feeling that trumps it. For Winston, his greatest fear was rats, that they may crawl on his and gnaw off his face. For me, you could basically name anything and chances are I’d be afraid of it or something related to it. Some things on my phobia list: Whales, snake bites, getting things in my eyes, being paralyzed… so the list goes on. If you were faced with the scariest thing you know, what would you do to avoid it? Apparently anything, such as betray the only person you’ve ever loved, as was the case in 1984. (Which, by the way, Winston lost any pity I had for him by doing that. Jerk.)

 

But we usually think of fear as an individual affair, a feeling that only we feel internally. But oftentimes we see a collective fear, such as the fear of a group or of a nation. In 1984, there was an unspoken fear by the people not in the inner party that the party would assassinate them at any moment. In the Middle East, there is a collective fear and resulting anger of the masses against their oppressive governments. As the article details, Japanese activists acted in the way they did out of fear of China.

Actually when you think about it, we see fear in a lot of governments’ actions. Japan’s not the only nation acting out of fear of their opponents. We do it too. A lot of our government’s actions are based upon the need to be a superpower, to be the best in something like energy, education, or economic stability. This need, in turn, is fueled by fear. We fear falling behind excelling nations like China, we fear instability like the Arab Spring, we fear a gosh darn lot of things. Clearly fear is an excellent motivator though, to influence our decisions and our actions to avoid that which we fear— which in some cases is good, and other cases not so much.

 

This whole government issue doesn’t really feel like it’s relevant to our teenage lives, so I’ll use a more suitable example for the grand finale of this post. Next time you’re walking down the street and you are faced with something you fear, (let’s say for this hypothetical, that you fear goats) approach it like you’re not afraid. I want you to walk up to that goat and yell “You don’t scare me goat!” and get reasonably up in its face. Let it know that fear doesn’t rule your life, that unlike all those governments and people like Winston that act out of fear, by golly, you don’t. Then walk off with your head held high, because guess what? You sure showed that goat who’s boss.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wow. Sorry, that last part got kind of random and weirdly dramatic… I guess that’s what fear does to you sometimes.

*Cue eerie organ music*

I think it’s safe to say that everyone enjoys their privacy. People don’t just go around blurting out their every thought or opinion for the world to hear—that what secrets are for. Especially in our society, we love privacy. That’s why we put fences up around our property and use privacy settings on Facebook. That’s why bathroom stalls have doors. So imagine your life without such privacy. Every bit of it is made public, or at least somebody else knows everything you do. It’s really creepy to think about, isn’t it? But what if our society was like that and privacy ceased to exist?

Ah well, you’re in luck! Privacy doesn’t exist in 1984! Although there is seemingly a sense of privacy, that is false. The government may allow citizens to live in their own houses and think their own thoughts, which we would assume means privacy, but this is a lie. A LIE, I SAY.  The only purpose really of a telescreen is to keep an eye on the Party members. People come home perhaps to escape the prying eyes of patrol members in the streets. Well, guess what? They can still see you even when you can’t see them.

Likewise, with the presence of Thought Police, even the inside of people’s head has no privacy. Winston says that the only thing he truly owns is the few inches inside his skull, but even that’s a stretch. He may control his mind, but there is no privacy there. The Thought Police can somehow read minds or whatnot and know exactly what he’s thinking. They can’t allow even the freedom of thought because they must know of any rebellious ideas before they are acted upon. Privacy? Not even close.

In the Truman Show, a similar concept arises. Truman’s life is public. Every move he makes is broadcasted and watched by millions of viewers. Every single day. Every. Single. Second. While nowadays we have reality TV that shows us inside people’s personal lives, it’s nothing compared to the Truman show. He is kept in the dark about the whole thing and unlike 1984 society, he assumes that when he enters a “safe” place like his house, he has privacy. Little does he know that thousands of cameras track him. However, Truman still has the privacy of his own brain. As he says when he discovers the truth- “You don’t have a camera inside my head.”

Both the book and the movie show us that perhaps in the future, privacy will become obsolete and die out. Maybe we’ll get to the point where no aspect of our lives is personal or private, as in 1984. Maybe we’ll place cameras around to track certain people’s moves. Maybe we won’t. Only time will tell how privacy will evolve, but even if it fades, I hope there will still be doors on bathroom stalls.

Somehow I Don't See Myself Wearing Overalls. It's Just Not Me.

War is scary.

 

 

I thought about making that the entire blog post, but I figured it wouldn’t be satisfactory. I didn’t want to let you down. No, war is more than scary, it’s terrifying and destructive and hellish. It started with the Neanderthals probably, smashing each other with rocks. Since then we’ve evolved through blades of all sorts and big machines and biological weapons.

As we move toward the future, weapons are becoming craftier. George Orwell may have seemed delusional and inaccurate when people first read 1984. There is a whole section in the book (You know what I’m talking about—the book, but not the book 1984) which outlines “rules” for continuous warfare, one of which details the advanced weaponry. At the time, such inventions seemed outrageous. “Larger and larger rocket bombs, more and more powerful explosives, and more and more impenetrable armor-plating; other search for new and deadlier gases, or for soluble poisons… as to destroy the vegetation of whole continents, or for breeds of disease germs immunized against all possible antibodies; others strive to produce a vehicle that shall bore its way under the soil like a submarine under the water…” (194).

Feeling depressed yet? I bet as you read that, you realized that some of these things do exist in our world today. It’s not just a creation of Orwell’s imagination, it’s reality. Consider the recent issues in the Middle East. What weapons did we use in places like Pakistan and Libya? Drones. Unmanned aircraft capable of killing someone from 20,000 feet in the air? Are you sure Orwell didn’t make that up too?

Unfortunately, it’s a serious peril to enemies of the United States. If you read this handy article right about here, you can see how similar our society has become to Oceania. (I wouldn’t recommend reading the whole thing. It’s long and you could probably better use your time to stop global warming or save the tigers or something.) We have invented a machine that remotely kills whoever we perceive as a threat to our society without getting our own hands dirty. That sounds familiar, like the Thought Police and Ministry of Love who kill the intelligent, thinking individuals in 1984 society. What right do we have to murder possibly innocent people? It happens all the time in war, though. Civilians die as "collateral damage" and it doesn't mean a thing to us. Innocents are caught in the crossfire all the time, if not targeted because of some wrong information or perception. It's all very dystopian, this situation that we're in and we need to stop and look at the great destructive effects that our technologies are causing.

But weapons don't kill people. People kill people. With the use of weapons. So I guess directly that weapons are the main cause of death, but people are the main ones at fault.

It should serve as a warning. In the near future we may resort to brainwashing and killing of people who simply don’t comply with our standards, even if they’re not a serious threat to us. We could be holding Two Minutes Hate and training our kids to be killers. And perhaps worst of all, we could be stuck wearing overalls for all eternity.

Texting, Government Monitoring, & Mr. Pickles.

How would you respond if you found out the government was reading your text messages? Especially since the terrorist attacks on 9/11, (coincidentally today is the 11th anniversary) national security has been on its toes, and for good reason. We heard about the phone tapping as an initiative of the National Security Agency and many were outraged by it. Such an infringement of privacy shouldn’t be allowed, should it?

In recent years, though, the rise of online communications and mobile phone abilities like texting and apps has posed a newer threat. Just as with phone tapping, governments across the world may be imposing a monitoring system of texts and web usage to search for key words relating to possible problems for national security.

Although such has no yet happened in the United States, private corporations may be
taking matters into their own hands. Even with relatively controlled instances like this, government intervention could increase. To get to the main question I’m supposed to be answering: Is it ever necessary to give up your civil rights to protect the greater good?

First of all, what really is the “greater good?” It’s vague but let’s just suppose that it means protecting society from whatever threat looms. I guess I would agree to some extent that screening electronic messages could be beneficial. But sometimes that power to sift through personal data gets taken to a new level. There is no need to store the information as the UK government has been doing. And clearly we know something is wrong with the way the government is going about this initiative when a group that opposes the procedures is called “Big Brother Watch.” Mr. Pickles, director of said group, has been a longtime outspoken critic of the government’s policies and loose regulations. It’s been said that these types of government actions violate the Fourth Amendment because they are done without a warrant, as well as comes close to infringing on the First Amendment of free speech.

So to sum up, in some cases a simple act of giving up these civil rights may be beneficial, though it completely depends on how the government utilizes or abuses the information they gain access to. As with the UK situation, I think the actions that they’re taking are going too far and violating civil rights beyond a reasonable level of simply screening messages. Personally, I side with Mr. Pickles on this one. Until more regulation is put in place, this “spying,” is causing more harm than good in framing the government as the enemy. I’d say it’s a good thing the Britons have the heroic Mr. Pickles on their side in advocating their privacies and civil rights.  

 

Fingers and Such.

Say I lived in the future. 2081, to be exact, in the society laid out in Kurt Vonnegut's "Harrison Bergeron." Of course I would have many handicaps because I am better than everybody else. I hope you caught the sarcasm there. In all honesty, I'm not much better at most things than other people.

I would consider myself relatively smart among the larger population of people. I'm no Einstein by any means, but I suppose the government would want to make sure I didn't take unfair advantage of anything. Just as George had to in the story, I would probably be subjected to piercing and disruptive noises in my ear to distract from any intelligent thinking.

Likewise, I am an artistic, crafty person. So in a world where beautiful things cannot be seen because they are of "unequal" caliber to everything else, my artsy projects would be illegal. Perhaps to cease the expression of my otherwordly creativity, the government would make sure my joints swelled up so that I couldn't use my nimble fingers to construct art. If that didn't work, the Handicapper General could resort to breaking my fingers, or cutting them off in an extreme case to ensure that I would not create anything without being in incredible amounts of pain.

Since I like these talents about myself, I don't necessarily want to live in this future society. Although equality sounds nice, I don't think we need to sacrifice individuality for the greater "good" of society. Personally, I'd prefer to keep my brain and fingers intact, but maybe that's just me.

Propaganda fit for a President

                Clearly with the 2012 election campaigns in full swing, there will be abundant advertisements, speeches, and conventions. Among all these things, there is bound to be plenty of propaganda. I feel like no political campaign is complete without a bit of subconscious messaging or even blunt newspeak (1984, anyone?). So the question is how specifically we are seeing Romney and Obama use these techniques of propaganda at their conventions in the past week and the present, respectively.

                I notice quickly in both conventions there are several techniques that are very prevalent. First off, the overriding use of testimonial in both parties is undeniable. Romney had a pretty solid line-up, including many prominent politicians like Rick Santorum and John McCain, but that was expected. Of course politicians of the GOP will support their own. What may have surprised people, myself included, was the celebrity influence at the Republican Convention. Olympic gold medalist Kim Rhode spoke and later Clint Eastwood took center stage, with the chair in the supporting role. It appears that Romney’s goal was to show Americans that famous actors and athletes support him, so you should too.

On the other hand, Obama took a slightly different approach. His lineup of speakers does not include well-known celebrities. Instead, he’s called a myriad of politicians from different states and different levels. Even without cultural icons, Obama has some big names to speak on his behalf. In a video endorsement, former President Jimmy Carter spoke, as did former President Bill Clinton. Sandra Fluke is present at the convention this week as well, or as some may know her, the woman who Rush Limbaugh called a “slut” on his radio show.  So what does this say about Obama’s propaganda techniques? He is gathering political support by using other politicians and creating credibility within the political sphere, which may be a better approach considering Clint’s little fiasco at the Republican Convention.

If you examine closely enough, you find many other types of propaganda present in the conventions, although less rampant than testimonial. Plain Folks was used nicely to establish that both candidates are not big wig politicians, but just like you and me. Mitt Romney is a jolly old grandfather figure, according to his family video, and he even “repairs” light bulb covers by using pieces of cardboard. Sounds exactly like me, doesn’t it? Obama does a similar thing, portraying himself as the family man. Michelle did a good part of the work on this one, saying she’s a mother first, and a first lady second. That she cares about the wellbeing of her daughters above all and of families across the nation.

Of course, no political campaign is complete without a hearty serving of name-calling. Although much of this is saved for the television ads, the convention speeches are riddled with such negativity about the opposing candidate. Paul Ryan took a stance against Obama, chronicling his funneling of Medicare money to the health care bill to paint him as a greedy villain. Obama responded with a speaker named Randy Johnson, who was fired from one of Romney’s Bain Capital companies. He claimed that Romney has no moral compass and portrays him as a greedy hater of the working class.

While some of these propaganda messages may be true or effective, it’s hard to sort the truth from the sheer rhetoric. The only thing we can be completely sure of is the fact that more name calling will take place in the coming months.

Must Love Butterscotch.

How many times have I come into contact with something wonderful and thought, “If I ruled a nation, this would be in it”? The answer is more than I can count. To be honest, I’ve forgotten a lot of the elements to my perfect world and now I feel like I should have written them down for such an opportune time like this. I suppose in my utopia there would be no memory loss, for starters.

                Though I cannot figure out why, whenever I think of my utopia the Hidden Valley Ranch commercial pops into my head. For one, I do enjoy my vegetables, but I think the overriding reason that it comes to mind is simply in the title. Instead of a lost island as Thomas More suggested, my utopia is in a hidden valley somewhere, where trees and shrubberies can line the rim to keep others out. The population would be considerably smaller than his 54 cities, so probably just one town would occupy the valley.

                In terms of supplies, my utopia would be relatively self-sustaining. There would be farmers, hunters, and gatherers for food and fuel. They would utilize all of these aspects in similar fashion to the Native Americans did, like using all of the bones of the buffalo for different things. For the things that could not be grown or harvested within the valley, there would be a trading system with nearby towns. In order to trade with other areas, the town would need a collective wealth supply, but no individual would possess money. Instead, all necessities would be collective and available to the population as they needed it. It’s rather communist-oriented actually.

                I would support the Amish approach as well, but I find electricity to be quite beneficial, so my utopia would have electricity. There would be limits though, so screen time would be limited and computer usage somewhat restricted. For example, if one of the utopian citizens spends two hours on the computer solely browsing social networks, their computer would automatically shut off. On the other hand, if that time was used researching or learning astrophysics, then the system would allow that usage.

Finally, an important piece of the society is the government. It would essentially be the true democracy that the Greeks implemented. Ideally, every adult from every household would attend monthly forums and meetings as needed to input their opinions or vote on decisions. There would be a couple of popularly elected spokespeople to rule final decisions as voted on by the people, to keep things under control and to oversee the general wellbeing of the town. As for religion, there will either be one or none so as to avoid conflict, but if the people choose one, they must vote on it unanimously.

Overall, my utopia meshes pieces of several different ways of life and governments to create one ideal society. Of course there are plenty of other elements I would love to include, but I have gotten carried away already in constructing my perfect world. My utopia is, in simple words, a place where people don't necessarily have to be happy all the time, but live in harmony all the time. I must mention one final rule, which is: All citizens of my utopia must enjoy butterscotch. It just seems like common sense to me.