Social Playground

In a conversation with my children (26, 24, 20, and 17) the other day, I realized that the viewpoint as to how life should be had drastically changed. At least from when I grew up in the ’70s. I overheard a conversation they had with some friends and had to ask questions. According to their theory and thought process, every living creature on this planet lives for free and has no actual obligations other than to collect food, build a home, and protect their family. The kiddos stated that no other species on this earth has to “work” for a living the way humans do. Every creature other than Homo sapiens lives for free. The question, why is this not a thing for humans, was raised.

I explained the following since it seems to be the most reasonable explanation available in my opinion.

No other species has as many materialistic wants as humans. A Bluebird does not care to live in a five-bedroom house with an Audi parked in the driveway. Nor do other kinds wish to travel to exotic places and taste foods they are not even meant to devour. No, we are the only ones who have to experience everything on a different level.

The way I see it, we all have a choice. We can play on the playground of the world which provides us with all these fancy options such as shiny cars, big flashy houses, name-brand clothing, and traveling to highly coveted destinations. We can have all these things as long as we abide by the rules of this yard. That includes slaving your time away for a trade-off. You sacrifice your time and life to gain access to all these shiny things. In most cases, that means you have to work for someone who hands you a paycheck. Obviously, you have to abide by their rules because let’s face it. You are now their property until you, or they, decide it’s not a good fit anymore. You are disposable.

On the flip side, you could disregard all these materialistic items and live life at a bare minimum. In that case, all you have to do is work long enough on buying property, maybe some cattle or other livestock, and plant vegetables as well as other essential food items necessary to survive.

Should you desire to live that way, you would be able to work for as much or as little money as you desire, but would waive the access to the shiny.

Grant it, you would still have to abide by the law of the land and pay taxes, but it would be far less attachment to the government than the first option.

In my opinion, the way life is set up in most countries is BS. You are born (with no choice in the matter) and hope to God that your parents set up a life for you where struggles are not necessary. The sad truth is that in most cases that just isn’t possible. Society is not designed for a stress-free life. Quite the contrary. We are pushed to do exactly what the government wants us to do and have no hand in whether we like it or not. We are forced to attend school, get shots, and conform to anything that is shoved down our throats. If we ask questions or God forbid don’t oblige, we are considered anti-social and rebellious. So yes, I can understand where the kids would be frustrated with such a societal setup.

But what would be the perfect solution and how would life work if it were different. Let us hypothetical for a second, shall we?

Have you ever played the Game of Life? What if we would provide anyone who finished school, as required, with the option of becoming whatever it is they want to be? Without a preconceived penalty. You see, right now if you want to become a musician because that is what you are gifted in, you are most likely never going to make money, and you are told to let it be a hobby. A writer is less likely to be published without having connections or a big bank account. We are forced to do things we are not good at just to make a living, and that should not be so. If your talent lies in helping people via counseling, you shouldn’t have to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars just to be able to make a living from it. Painting is an art and a gift, no artist should be penalized for being gifted in a creative field. Nor should they be held back because of lacking connections to get them paid.

I picture the “sorting hat” of Harry Potter to identify who is gifted in what field. Once determined, let’s equip each graduate with the tools needed to further their gift and enable them to make a fair living. Is this request so inconceivable? I think not. Unfortunately, this theory would not fill the pockets with the already wealthy and is therefore always going to be hypothetical. Shame. I guess the kiddos are right to be frustrated with how life is, and how it should be.