When reading Le Guin’s “Omelas” you grow disgust towards the town’s people, for allowing the horrific treatment of a young child. But if you look at yourself, the pants you wear, the shoes on your feet, the phone in your pocket are all products being made by young people in harsh conditions. But you accept that. You cannot comprehend locking a child in a basement and the joy that it brings to the town, yet you continue using products made by children in basements.
Omelas is a plotless short story. But it is an apt description of our society. But we have no mountains in the distance, to leave when it all feels like too much. Where can we go to escape our happy society? How can we walk away from Omelas?
I completely agree about how you somewhat grow disgust towards the town’s people because it’s hard to believe they could put an innocent child through such conditions. Accepting that all of the nice things you own are at the expense of a child is definitely concerning.
The second sentence is a brutal and harsh reminder. But yes, we do totally just allow these things to happen for our comfort. Good catch.
That’s a strong opening paragraph! And you pack a lot into just a few short sentences.