Real life Omelas

 I have admitted that "The Ones Who Walked Away from Omlas" is a fantastic story by Ursula K. Le Guin. Imaginative was not missing in the story. And as a person who likes to read about psychology and sociology, I immediately got online to look for the answer. I found on the internet is that Ursula's story was a criticism of the Utilitarian society. Utilitarian society is the society in which the citizen focus on their own happiness. People would ask themself what to do to maximize the pleasure and minimize the sadness for their own. Sadly, I think this is one of human basic instinct, therefore, it would apply to every society to ever exist. From Monarchy to Capitalism, citizens in those societies usually aim to gain interest for their own to try to not in a bottom of society which in Ursula's story is the child with chain. I think Ursula have an implied criticism of how the ignorance of the citizen of Omelas.

    "But as time goes on they begin to realize that even if the child could be released, it would not get much good of its freedom: a little vague pleasure of warmth and food, no doubt, but little more. It is too degraded and imbecile to know any real joy. It has been afraid too long ever to be free of fear. Its habits are too uncouth for it to respond to humane treatment".

The ignorance of the people who live in Omelas is that they made excuses to defend actions they do their own good. They disregard the fact that in order for the citizen to have a happy life. They have taken away the right for that child to have his pleasure and happiness. And to think that the child would not live normal is also ignorance because they were the ones taking away that child's freedom. The child was tied up. He begged to be set free but everyone ignore "it". "It" did not have a choice of at least a chance to know that if he can live normally or not. 

That is what I got after reading "The Ones Who Walked Away from Omlas". I think we as a society (including me)have normalized the suffering of others for our own good. There is nothing we can do, and it is what it is. But, the unacceptable for me here is that we made excuses for what we do. I think it is genius of Ursula to set the setting like this with imaginary places and rules. This is the reason that we as readers can interpret and apply to our own situation. This place can be my country, my school, my workplace, or even my thoughts.