Let's change the definition of a “Utopia”

A utopia in today's society is viewed as a perfect world, where everyone is happy. But that is just the problem. This is the definition in the modern world we live in and it is an unachievable place. The definition that we should be using is the Greek meaning of the word which means “no-place”. This clearly states the world that can not exist and is only fictional to the human mind. Due to the fact that children and young adults are brainwashed into thinking a "Utopia" is an achievable thing. It is also not just the term utopia but the term perfect. This sets unreachable goals in a human's mind. I’m not saying that people should settle, what I’m saying is people should always try to achieve more and be the best can be within their life time and time given. Let’s make the word “utopia” and “perfect” only a fictional thing, and let’s make the words achievable and attainable part of the utopia terminology.

Let's be real, is a utopia even possible at this point in time. People these days will always be greedy and want what's best for themselves in their lives. People say they are not selfish but give them the opportunity to have everything they want and you will how much they ask for. Put this into perspective, no matter if a kid grows up poor or rich if you give them money (or the opportunity to buy something) they will go buy something that they want, even if they do not need it. We live in a society where we have the idea of "needs and wants" flip-flopped. Ever see a kid crying in a store because the parents will not buy something they want but you hear the kid say “I need it!”. Does the ignorant child need it, no they do not but at that point in their life they think they do. A world where everyone has everything eliminates two main things, greed and the desire to strive for something, greed should be eliminated but the desire to strive for something can lead a person to be dedicated and determined.

In the passage “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas”, the people live happy lives, almost perfect in a sense. This only achiever by the suffering of a young child. The child is suffering constantly only to give the people the satisfaction of their own lives. This instance reminds me of child labor around the world. Major brands such as Nike used children to produce their products. A child somewhere is making products for someone else in a first world country. The suffering of children, leads to the satisfaction and happiness of another human. This sound familiar. This quote from the passage of Omelas shows how sacred these children are, “It looks about six, but actually is nearly ten. It is feeble-minded. Perhaps it was born defective or perhaps it has become imbecile through fear, malnutrition, and neglect. It picks its nose and occasionally fumbles vaguely with its toes or genitals, as it sits hunched in the corner farthest from the bucket and the two mops. It is afraid of the mops. It finds them horrible. It shuts its eyes, but it knows the mops are still standing there; and the door is locked; and nobody will come.”. The child is terrified of an inanimate object but replace the object with something a little more terrifying such as a slave owner or a sweetshop owner. Each of these things caused pain and suffering to the child but in return produces something that causes joy and excitement to a wealthy person.

We see the word of Omelas as disgusting and inhuman but in reality, people have been doing it for decades. Every time that you buy a product from a store that has been imported from a foreign country, it shows that you are supporting the labor laws and allowing the suffering of children produce goods for others. In the passage of Omelas, it has people walk away from the world of good and happiness to stop the suffering of children. The way people walk away from child labor in our modern world is by buying clothes from companies that do not support those laws and also are domestically made by legal civilians that are able to work.

The world we live in today is not far from Omelas, yet our society is not a “utopia”, it still attains happiness. No “Utopia” is perfect but the idea of a happy and successful society is attainable. In our world today, not everyone will be happy, but have a majority of people happy is better than nothing.

-Peter (800)

Le Guin, Ursula. "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas." The Winds Twelve Quarters: Short Stories. 1999.