By Martin Jansen
There once was a man who was a dreamer. Instead of accepting what was, he chose to dream of what could be.
At first he dreamed big, of a world without war. But then he considered the nature of man and of all those in the military without work. What would happen to them? Could the world really make swords into plowshares?
Then he dreamed of a world without poverty. No one would be hungry. Food banks would be filled to overflowing, everyone would be satisfied. But isn’t the nature of man to want more? Once all the food was available without cost wouldn’t he want housing supplied? After housing, transportation in the form of a new car? After a car, how about a regular paycheck, without the pesky work part? Where would it end?
Dreaming now of a world without borders. It’s pretty easy to see that it would mean a great redistribution of wealth where there would be no middle class. The rich, however, would still get richer.
Maybe if he dreamed of something smaller like free health care for all in the United States. Some people claim it is a birthright. Yes, a single payer system run by the government. But what of all the people working in health insurance? Large companies would go bankrupt and dissolve creating massive unemployment. And since the government does not run efficiently, health care fraud would most certainly increase.
Dreaming about free education, let the working pay for an education that may never get used. The US can find jobs for only so many gender studies majors.
Still on a small scale, he dreamed the US was no longer dependent on oil or coal. All to “save the environment”, while China and others continue to pollute. A great redistribution of resources into renewable energy. Large solar (most made in China) and wind farms blanket much of the countryside and still it is not enough to supply our homes with power in bad weather – like Texas. Electric cars run cleanly, but all need to be plugged in at night draining power. Meanwhile, nuclear power plants are still being discouraged. Maybe nuclear fusion can supply unlimited power, but that, too, will likely be banned.
Having exhausted dreams of big and small, the man woke up. He realized the best he could do was help the world locally. Volunteer at a food bank or any local organization that helps the community. If everyone did one thing to help others, the world would be a better place.