We have a commenter at in a media kangaroo court, you’re guilty even if proven innocent!, who left this link in the comments: Omelas State University in which science fiction writer John Scalzi excoriates the silence up and down the chain of command in the Joe Paterno case which is so hot right now.
Here’s what I think about that, right now. I’m a science fiction writer, and one of the great stories of science fiction is “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas,” which was written by Ursula K. LeGuin. The story posits a fantastic utopian city, where everything is beautiful, with one catch: In order for all this comfort and beauty to exist, one child must be kept in filth and misery. Every citizen of Omelas, when they come of age, is told about that one blameless child being put through hell. And they have a choice: Accept that is the price for their perfect lives in Omelas, or walk away from that paradise, into uncertainty and possibly chaos.
At Pennsylvania State University, a grown man found a blameless child being put through hell. Other grown men learned of it. Each of them had to make their choice, and decide, fundamentally, whether the continuation of their utopia — or at very least the illusion of their utopia — was worth the pain and suffering of that one child. Through their actions, and their inactions, we know the choice they made.
So I searched the comments to see if any of them (or the author) were not citizens of Omelas. It turns out there was one. Me.
Drug War. Drug Warriors. Every single day. Every single American.
I seem to be the first to bring it up on this long thread.
j’accuse
Where is the courage friends to write even words to a blog?
It must be just as Stalin has said (to paraphrase) – One child’s life destroyed, a tragedy. A million children a year having their lives destroyed. A statistic.
I left Omelas a LONG time ago. Who will join me?
Funny thing. I just got done talking to a friend about the job situation. He told me about having to take a pee test for everything. I asked “didn’t you at least complain?” He said “It was nothing”. I said “Don’t you know about the ‘big mirrors’ in the pee test john? Don’t you know they are watching?” His reply “sure” and went on about the job market.
It stares you in the face every day. If every person in America said, “No more” it would end tomorrow. But America has become Omelas. Except for a very few of us who would rather “Live Free Or Die.” We get the government we deserve. Good and hard. Just like that little child.
Comments
6 responses to “J’accuse”
I understand that you are defending a close family friend, Eric, but no matter how good of a man Paterno has been to you or anyone else in his life he failed miserably when it came to that boy (allegedly) being raped by Sandusky. So did McQueary. So did the university administration. In the case of Paterno at least, he may be innocent or any wrongdoing under the law but not morally or ethically. Paterno’s own actions, or rather inaction, brought about his downfall not I, the general public, the media, or worse failures by more persons in this case and in others. Your obvious affection for the man is blinding you to the obvious and causing your defenses of the man to becoming more and more loopy. It is always a shame to see a good man’s reputation tarred, especially when they themselves are to blame for it happening. As Benjamin Franklin put it: “It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad one to lose it.”
Sorry Simon, not Eric.
Uh. My point had nothing to do with Joe P. per se. It had to do with the millions of lives destroyed by drug prohibition. But your response only proves my point.
It must be just as Stalin has said (to paraphrase) – One child’s life destroyed, a tragedy. A million children a year having their lives destroyed. A statistic.
Eh, I mixed up you and Eric. If you want to make an argument against the so-called “War of Drugs” be my guest. It’s been a complete waste of time, lives, manpower and money.
En fuego!
If mandatory drug tests make most people feel miserable and if people who feel miserable are more likely to anesthetize themselves then … mandatory drug tests are likely to increase drug use.