What If
What if humans weren't meant to live such disconnected lives? What if humans were actually meant to live in vibrant flourishing and caring communities? What if humans were meant to take care of each other and love one another?
What if humans were meant to take care of the planet? What if humans were actually meant to cultivate gardens all over the earth, so that everywhere there was always enough for everyone?
What if humans weren't meant to spend all their time slaving away at tedious jobs they hate? What if instead they were meant to love their lives and their occupations?
What if the world was meant to be a place full of peace and love and happiness, where people were always content?
What if all the evils perpetrated in the world were actually done on purpose? What if, long long ago, some people learned they could gain control over others? What if people learned that by controlling others, they could become rich? What if people learned that they could force others to be their servants?
What if people began to develop methods of gaining and maintaining such power over others? What if over time people's ideas about how to control others graduated in scope? What if, slowly over time, people went from exerting power directly over people, to more sophisticated indirect methods of control? What if they developed an advanced system for keeping people under control by keeping them entranced by an overwhelming deluge of distractions? What if they developed a system that kept people thinking they were free, when really they were actually slaves?
What if people developed a system that gave a few people incredible control over everyone else? What if they convinced everyone that only people with money have rights, and that whoever has the most money has the most rights? What if they convinced everyone that anyone without money is lazy or bad and that he or she deserves to be a slave? And what if the people who designed this system controlled most of the money and the money supply from the start? What if they engineered the whole system, brilliantly, from the start to create a society of their own servants?
What if all the evils being committed in the world could end? What if the chains keeping people enslaved were entirely in their minds? What if the whole world could change, instantly, if only the people woke up? What if people just had to open their eyes to the truth, and the truth would set them free?
What if a new society could form? What if people could communicate on a global scale to develop a new way of doing things? What if people agreed to start working together to end injustice in the world? What if everyone everywhere agreed to work on behalf of everyone else?
What if we understood that when everyone works for everyone else, then everyone works for each of us and our families too? What if we understood that in a society where everyone is working for each other, each of us need only do our part to help whoever we are able, and whoever is able will do their part to help each of us? What if we understood that in this society, the only way one will starve, is if everyone else is starving too?
What if the people who already know what is going on in the world started actively working together to start this new society? What if all the people who make the people's media started putting out messages that it is time to start a new society? What if we all started working together to get a message out to start forming such a network? What if we led the way in such an effort? What could happen?
Could we start something new? Could we start growing real communities? Could we begin pooling our resources? Could we start getting together in the real world? Could we start building a real alternative way of life? Could we start leading by example, instead of just complaining about these problems on our blogs?
Could we rethink modern life? Could we find more sustainable ways of life? Could we find ways to be more efficient? Could we form real vibrant well connected communities together? Could we help each other and work together daily? Could we show people a new way to live? Could we show people how really to love one another? Could we start a movement? Could we show people just how they can break their chains? Could we also sap the system of its resources by leading the escape from the capitalists' system?
Could we do this in a way that is reproducible anywhere? Could we create a template for people everywhere to escape this beast of a system? Could we begin the revolution, simply, by working to form a new society?
I don't know, but I wonder, what would happen if we tried?
Cover Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash