Topic #2-
The burden of carrying around guilt over someone else's misery is something that everyone experiences at some point in their lives. At the time, it seems that we can never rid ourselves of the pain we are experiencing, the sadness and helplessness we feel over watching someone else suffer. We often become overwhelmed by the feeling, and sometimes, make decisions in the heat of the moment. An example of this is the adolescent girls and boys who decide to leave Omelas right after witnessing the horrific conditions the child lives in for the first time. In that particular moment, their outrage over the way the boy is treated drives them to make the crucial decision to leave their utopian town. In my opinion, the reason they leave in the first place is because they are feeling incredibly guilty, yet they can't identify what they feel because they have been shielded from it their entire lives, so they attempt to walk away from it completely. I understand that in the story, the author states that guilt is not present in Omelas. I think this is only the case because they live in a utopia where they are never exposed to it. The only time they can experience guilt, something that, up until that point, has been foreign to them, is when they are first introduced to the boy. In time, however, this underlying feeling of guilt is sure to pass. Personally, I feel it is impossible to constantly feel guilty over someone else's misery. After weeks, months, perhaps years, the guilt is sure to fade as they will likely start to forget about the boy and the intensity of injustice they once felt toward the situation as they continue on with their own lives. The feelings may still be there, but surely not as strong. They may think about the boy from time to time, but it is unlikely that any of them are constantly feeling guilty over it. A non-textual example that supports my opinion would be the pang of guilt a lot of us feel when we see a homeless person on the street, often begging for money. When I come across this, it always breaks my heart. I'm left feeling powerless and guilty for not fully appreciating the food and shelter I am lucky enough to have. As I walk away from a homeless person, I often think there is nothing I want more than to abolish homelessness completely. The sadness of the situation invades my thoughts and I feel as if it will never leave my mind. Yet I arrive home hours later and as I prepare a plate of food or get into bed, the guilt I once felt over seeing the homeless individual suffering seems to have vanished. From time to time, I may sit in the comfort of my home and think of all those that are without one, the guilt overwhelming me for a while, but the feeling is never constant, as is the guilt one may feel about the misery of others.
