Ironically, a novel about overpopulation by Harry Harrison - one of his bleaker books. Later used as inspiration for the movie Soylent Green, though cannibalism was never in the original book.
We have no room in our lives to grow.
Likewise, we have no physical room to grow any more. Which I think causes a large amount of problems in society.
Two hundred years ago, the social misfits and outcasts and rebels could go to the New World. An entire continent open to expansion, exploration, adventure. Room for growth.
Hell, the British Empire was growing. India, Thailand, Jamaica, China, Africa, wherever. There was room for growth.
They deported undesirables to Australia, the south seas prison colony. They settled Australia and New Zealand. Room for growth, outside of the mouldy old isles of the Empire.
No longer.
Society is boxed in, strangled by rules and regulations, hampered by the fear of doing anything that is not socially approved of. Political Correctness, the group-fears of the Herd, restricting the natural growth of humanity. The greed and abuse of many of the have-mores, who have the freedom to do nearly anything that they wish.
He who has the gold, makes the rules.
No way away from the stultifying cramped-ness that is life today. Yes, you can go visit open spaces and freedom - about the best that is possible for us these days. Only the truly rich can actually buy some of that freedom.
Instead, you rent it for your holidays. Which is fuckin' laughable these days. Most people seem to "rent" a fuckin' luxury trip to a beach, at an exorbitant cost, with full service. Or head over to South-East Asia in a hunt for some strange dick or pussy. To enjoy bragging about their "exotic" sexual encounter - err - I mean, destination.
The silliness of people can be breathtaking. There are excellent beaches in New Zealand in summertime, yet instead people go to destinations such as Rarotonga. Spend eleven-plus months of the year slaving your guts out, so that you can go waste as much of your saved money as possible experiencing the "luxury" of the nouveau-rich for two weeks.
Rinse and repeat for years - decades - on end.
Still you have not grown. There is no room in your life for it.
Generally people only rise to the level of challenge, not over it. Why should they? I agree that living in an environment lacking in challenge inhibits their growth, but how to remedy that?
ReplyDelete^ 'above and beyond' is usually used, not 'over'.
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