Truth is stranger than fiction

It feels as if humanity has finally tipped over the edge. Some parts of the world are battling with the pandemic, others are celebrating being Covid free, and others are fighting in the streets and on the beaches! It is probably the writer in me and my imagination getting carried away but it is starting to look as if the virus has other symptoms that render the brain in some people to stop processing rational thought, as Buzz said, 'No sign of intelligent life here!'

It has all the hallmarks of a dystopian novel where the government implodes and society breaks down as individuals go on the rampage. It is one thing to read it as a fictional piece of work, it is quite another to see images on the news every night that show mayhem, worry, panic and disorder.

Whilst I am firmly wishing for this virus to be subdued, current events have certainly brought ideas for future stories, and as I remain, foolishly, ever the optimist, it has led me to ponder if a crisis and civil unrest such as we have recently seen could lead to a seismic shift in society, where structures are torn down and new ones are put in place, ones that finally provide the right to personal safety to each individual to go about their business in peace, and equality of opportunity to all through the eradication of poverty.

In an intelligent society that doesn't sound like a lot to ask for, but no, we can dump a car in space but we can't eradicate poverty - we have failed. I can't see any country in the world that provides a fair and just system for all its citizens to be the best that they can be, a safe and nurturing environment - no, that is not how humanity works - we have systems based on animal survival, stomping all over each other, protectionism, nepotism, corruption, and whilst we are at it we are stomping all over the planet.

This is unsustainable, the human race is unsustainable. Governments could and should be structured to provide and protect every person's right to live safely and creatively then they would be doing the right thing. As it is governments of the world today seek to provide and protect corporations rather than people, if they could be forced to flip that so they protect and enable all of their citizens, all not some, then what a different world we would have - surely utopia, or at least getting there!

#reading #thinking #hope #fantasyfiction #dystopia #eutopia #staysafe