Hey friends,
I took an unanticipated pause from The FLARE to simply manage life. It’s like that sometimes, but I’m hoping to keep at the regular cadence. The summer is smoother now and I’ve gotten more organized so those first steps out in the morning aren’t the hardest. As always, I appreciate you sticking with me.
I will start by saying that existence is political. My hair, my skin, my sexuality, and my gender are all political and my unashamed expression of them are acts of defiance. It is not that they are inherently sources of derision, but the continued legislation of those parts of myself make them so. While I’d rather poke fun or post something inspirational, occasionally something moves me to make a stronger statement.
For this Note, a response to a prompt, I was called a “woke communist” which was oddly satisfying because it was not the insult I’m sure they’d hoped. Someone’s opinion would have to matter and make sense for me to be insulted, anyway. The remaining response was a clumsy word salad, but I cannot run from who I am any more than I can escape my skin and so I pressed forward relatively unbothered. The interaction, however, nudged me to finish this week’s piece.
The term “semantic shift” came out of this discussion as well, which in my non-linguistic understanding means that the meanings of words change. A monster of a word was created from nowhere with ever-expansive detail. It’s developed into a pejorative and somehow, the uncomplicated history is lost. It reminded me of the beginnings of a dystopia… and studying it as a means to prevent it.
To engage with the idea of creating a utopia is to systematically break down hope and stubbornly build it back. To strive for a better, more equitable, more peaceful, and more abundant world is a radical act in the face of near certain failure.
There are facets to an imagined future time formed not only by scholars, historians, scientists, and activists, but dreamers as well, who envision what is possible. I believe the seeds of that future begin with ideas, however outlandish or seemingly improbable. We craft technology on the heels of aspirational thinking in fiction and find that even our most immovable rules are indeed temporary. I want what is possible, not what currently exists.
Through the course of discussions and reading on utopias, I find myself largely rejecting current systems in favor of crafting the result and leaving the equation to be created. I consider the members of utopian consortia serving different roles, so some are tasked with figuring out how to make the system we want work. As I’ve outlined in a previous newsletter, I want to see a society where basic needs are met with no cost. Work is service to community and people are free to pursue their passions without having to count value by productivity.
Study of current governments, as brilliantly outlined and compiled by Elle Griffin of The Elysian, reveals the gems in each and potential for an amalgamation of styles to truly make a (near) perfect union. What can we call it? I’m not sure, but I consider a guiding principle to constantly head toward an optimal state, a destination that changes and is far off in an unreachable place. Where I think peace and progress lies is in a purpose-filled journey. But we cannot be afraid of what labels imply. If what we dream of is considered a dirty word in some circles, we must nonetheless continue and not dissuade the opposition. If someone in intent on believing they know who you are, you cannot stop them.
I’ve been reading dystopias and cautionary tales where we cannot know whether a mate is trustworthy. People live with the constant threat of fatal exposure. It’s actually been helpful to explore dystopias because we can see so clearly how even a revolution overthrowing an unjust regime can be a conduit for totalitarianism. I am interested in ensuring we continually mold a society that stays true to its central tenets through trying to attain the highest community good.
More-so than revealing a vision of a feared future, dystopias provide clues as to how a nightmare begins and how citizens find themselves consumed by a frightening but normalized reality. One part of dystopia is the forgetting. “I can’t remember a time when it was different” could be a sample line. This is an important clue as to our mutual destruction because information is shewed, suppressed, or discredited while the keepers of history are silenced or eliminated. Never was this more apparent than in 1984 by George Orwell where even those who believed in and created the principles set forth by the Party were eliminated to scrub every trace of its origins. When we are cut off from history and from memory, we are susceptible to suggestion of how both could have been.
Another part is the continued indoctrination and sly alteration of rules. The people rally behind a call to action or a shifting enemy whose crimes are delineated frequently. Over time, we don’t know why we disagree, we just do. And in our ignorance and slumber, the meanings of words shift and laws are enacted. Each one presses heavier on our chests while we wonder how we’ve become so short of breath.
One way of overcoming such shifts could be staying faithful to what the evidence shows and accepting the truth it tells, even if it hits our egos. We must not only reckon with the past, but know why we must never return. It is not enough for us to relegate history to a distant insect buzz on the wind, but continuously learn from it and find new ways to understand it. Each new generation must know these truths, examine them, and learn from them.
We must also believe in the inherent value of individuals within a community that is not connected with what they produce or that what they do produce has a place. People have a right to just be. I obstinately reject the notion that we cannot have the lives we want and that each is an island unto themself. There’s a mutual benefit in communities liberated from barriers to their connection to others and themselves. We simply fear failure because our liberation is designed to leave us vulnerable. Our dreams are not the problem, the systems we exist in are the problem.
Part of creating utopia is understanding how dystopias begin. The signs are subtle, slow-moving, and largely dismissed. Through remaining students of history, we have a means of shifting our course and maintaining movement toward utopia. But we must also understand that we are not limited, we are free in our imaginations to build what we want to see, put the vision to work, and forge forward to realize that vision. There is fear, but there is also boundless hope.
What improbable life do you envision for yourself?
What’s next?
We’ll explore citizens as keepers of history through a short fiction story and how the clutches of dystopia stay at bay.
Loved your thoughts on utopias and dystopias. Especially for the last one, I also think that they act as cautionary tales. 1984, Brave New World and Dune depict futures in which we don’t want to live. And to avoid those futures we need to mold human nature and shape it into a vision of a world where we can all live in peace and harmony with each other and with nature. Even utopias are tainted by the dark shadows of dystopia. Because there will always be greed, hunger for power and domination. Shining a light on those shadows is the best way to keep them at bay.
Enjoyed this piece a great deal. Your ideal world is one I often dream of too. I find the movie, Idiocracy, to be one of the most realistic dystopias. It feels like the current societal leadership is actively pushing to increase mindless consumption and demonizing differences and intelligence. The values feel all wrong. I would love to rely more on community and creativity.