Think of all that we do not see in the inner workings of civilization. Untold numbers of operations underly the simplest of modern comforts. And the things we take for granted, are the same in whose absence, we would complain bitterly of living as if it were the dark ages.
A toilet flushes, transporting into oblivion the objects of our distaste. Garbage disposals pulse and draw down our discards. Fumes emit profusely from our vehicles, and wisp into thin air. Crops are dusted and doused, and our apples seem to redden with the effort. Somehow, the food we eat appears neatly packaged on grocery shelves. But how is all this accomplished? Who is the wizard behind the curtain?
It seems a necessary concession to living in a civilized society, that we remain ignorant of its most basic mechanics. Think of what we condone simply by not knowing or not looking. For example, suppose that instead of disappearing into the vast dome of the sky, the fumes produced by your car somehow ended up in your house, where you live and eat and sleep. Would anyone still drive if, in so doing, they stood personally to suffer the consequences? Likewise, would we think differently of what we flushed down our toilets if we were the ones on the receiving end who had to clean it up? Would we eat differently if we knew how most of our food is produced?
And what are the consequences of ignorance? As my father always tells me, “you pay in this world for what you don’t know.” So blithely, we chatter away on our cell phones, not knowing whether they are carcinogenic. We eat food said to be FDA-approved, yet most of us have never bothered to visit the FDA and to discover what their licensing authority requires of manufacturers. We gulp down vast quantities of pills so that we can be productive citizens, never coming to grips with the fact that we are born entirely capable, and over-medicating only creates problems where there be no problems.
There is so much that we do not know, that by disassociation, we nevertheless come to accept. Frankly, it frightens me how detached most people are from the act of living. Most simply resign themselves to doing whatever is best marketed to them. Sadder still is the fact that life itself has ceased to be appealing on the strength of its own merits, people requiring drugs of all kinds to make it worthwhile. They watch movies because simply looking out one’s window is no longer sufficiently thrilling. A flower is no longer miraculous. A cloud that pours out rain no longer amazes. It is not enough to eat vegetables and fruits, and to drink water; we must modify everything for it to be palatable. I’ve met people who will not touch a vegetable! Imagine that! It’s a good thing they don’t live in prehistoric times when vegetables were the only game in town.
So, where does all this leave us? We need desperately to get in touch with the decisions we make. If, by our resolutions, we also come to grips with their outcomes, then rightfully, we can claim to have done our due diligence. But right now, we make too many choices for which we are never made accountable. Someone, somewhere deals with the byproducts of our living. Who are they? Where do they work? These are the questions we must ask if we are to become a better people.
