If you read classic literature, you’re well aware of dystopian futures. Whether it’s Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, 1984 by George Orwell, or Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, there’s a lot of ways that the future could go wrong. But what happens when society today goes wrong?
It doesn’t matter what you think about Covet-19 or the Coroner Virus, its effects have created a dystopian society. If you’re reading this blog post, I don’t have to tell you what’s dystopian about today. But even though we live in a weird dystopian future, it doesn’t bother me as much as I thought it would. If you keep your cool, there are ways to thrive in this dystopian future.
- Be grateful.
As far as dystopian futures go, this one isn’t that bad. War is way worse than face smotherings and anti-social distancing. I like anti-social distancing. I also don’t mind face smotherings because now I don’t have to worry about bad breath or food in my teeth. Plus, the face smothering hides the lack of symmetry in our faces, so the common person becomes more attractive.
When I was a kid, my dad got sent to another continent to fight and kill people he didn’t know. Looking back, that was a pretty bad situation. He came back from war as the Great Santini, traumatized and alcoholic. He would have been alcoholic anyway, but war trauma didn’t help. I can still get annoyed by strict travel restrictions and idea cancelling, but I’ll take face smotherings over war any day.
2. Don’t make yourself a target.
The government can’t enforce much. The government can’t even enforce traffic laws. I live in a major city where drivers speed with impunity. Last week I almost got hit by a school bus running a red light. The government built the roads, hands out drivers licenses, sends out car registrations, and they still can’t enforce squat.
But the government CAN target individuals. If you’re too obvious about noncompliance, the government can get you. So don’t scream about dystopian societies. Don’t get into people’s faces. And for God’s sake, don’t storm capitol buildings.
Just live your life. Be productive. Raise your family. And treat dystopian rules like traffic laws: don’t be the fastest driver.
3. Turn off the screens.
Mass media is pushing this dystopian future, whether it’s television or radio or tech companies. And people have always fallen for mass media techniques. How many times have people throughout history gotten fired up for war by government and mass media? And don’t forget sugary cereal.
Just a couple generations ago, parents were persuaded by television screens to feed their kids sugar for breakfast. Even with what we know about diabetes, parents today still feed their kids sugar for breakfast. Even supposedly high IQ parents do this. Mass media can be really persuasive if you’re not paranoid about their tricks… ahem.. I mean, techniques.
If you can’t turn off mass media, at least choose wisely. Stay away from anything with advertising. Be wary of entertainers with promo codes. And don’t watch the news. The news today is designed to cause an emotional reaction. It’s not to inform. So read the news. Reading the news is better for your brain anyway, and it’s easier to avoid/spot the propaganda. And read my blog. And read my ebooks. I’m kidding… kind of.
4. Stay away from corporations… as much as possible.
Corporations are enforcing the rules that government can’t enforce, and the corporations are in turn probably getting rewarded by the government. Just avoid the corporations as much as possible. Buy from local farmers markets instead of going to corporate grocery stores, and eat at or local restaurants instead of fast food chains.
You can’t avoid the corporations completely (or maybe at all), so don’t stress over it. You don’t have to go full Amish, though maybe that’s not a bad idea. The less you rely on corporations, the less dystopian you can be.
Obviously, this isn’t everything you can do to live in a dystopian future. And my advice is kind of vague. But I hope this helps. And it’s way better than reading 1984 or Brave New World and complaining that those guys had it good.
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What do you think? What other advice do you have for living in a dystopian future? How does our dystopian future compare to dystopian futures in literature?
