There will be a future, although some of us will not be there to see it. It will not be like the past. It’s time to ponder the kind of world we want after COVID.
Do you really want to commute to the city five days a week, leaving your
suburban house vacant, spending money on two vehicles, fuel, work clothes,
There will be a future, although some of us will not be there to see it. It will not be like the past. It’s time to ponder the kind of world we want after COVID.
Do you really want to commute to the city five days a week, leaving your
suburban house vacant, spending money on two vehicles, fuel, work clothes,
daycare, and prepared food? For most people, that ground to a halt, and we’re still alive. It may be a good time to turn a hobby into at-home self-employment. Few people would have signed up for this type of re-education, but here we are, so let’s learn what we can from it.
Do you really want to eat so much? Decades ago, I lived with a bunch of
militant vegans. While that degree of asceticism proved beyond my comfort zone, I did learn that I can live without eating mammals; 45 years later, I’m still alive, without meat. This is a good time to try out a less money-intensive diet, smaller quantities, and even occasional fasting for personal health benefits.
Do you really want to buy and maintain a vehicle that is expensive, gobbles fuel, and is not useful for your work or family transportation?
Do you really want to travel far away, to rent the experience of being there? And conversely, do you really think it’s a good idea to hope people will want to travel to where we live, not to join us in living or working, but to occupy the most desirable real estate, gawk at the natural beauty, and then go home to ‘reality’? Reality is not what it used to be, and isn’t changing back quickly, if ever.
These changes will not be on a ballot. Politicians cannot foresee a world in which everyone is their own government and a self-employed creative individual. It’s time for the world’s population to reclaim the birthright of facing the future without prodding or restraint from backward-facing money/power brokers. As Lennon/Ono said: “Imagine there’s no countries…nothing to kill or die for…and the world will live as one.” It could happen, and now is the most likely time in centuries.
Robert Wills
SHAWVILLE/THORNE
