September 16, 2016 - 11:41
Slipping happens when a person does something intentionally or subconsciously that is not socially acceptable. This could be saying a rude, racist comment or making assumptions based on the way someone looks. It can also be giving into social norms or ignoring a problem that should be dealt with. Ursula Le Guin’s “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas,” demonstrates a society of people who are constantly slipping.
In the city of Omelas everyone is happy, living in a utopia, except for one child. That one child suffers every single day living in the basement with nothing, in order to sustain good lives for the rest of society. Everyone in Omelas knows about the miserable child crying for help, sitting in its own feces, but barely anyone does anything about it. They decide that their perfect life is more valuable than the life of the kid. Some people go and visit the child and leave very upset, but they still don’t do anything about it. They don’t know what they can do. This decision to continue their normal lives pretending nothing is wrong in the world is a clear example of slipping. The fact that it is just easier for them to ignore the problem and go along with the social norms of forgetting the child is causing them to slip. Even many of the people who believe that the way the child is being treated is wrong, still chose to cover their deep feelings in order to sustain a utopia for everyone. The society believes that if the child is freed and taken care of as a human being, that the entire town will be disturbed and never live in peace again. The fear that this idea has instilled in its people makes them all slip and do nothing about the problem at hand.
However, in the same town there are a few people who are not slipping because they stand up for what they know is right and they leave Omelas never to be seen again. These people realize the severity of the situation that the child is living in and decide that they cannot live a happy life due to the suffering. They leave Omelas and this shows everyone else that something can be done, and most people still chose to ignore it. Staying in Omelas proves that the people are supporting the idea that one must suffer for everyone else to be happy. However, the few people who leave escape slipping and escape that corrupt society. The people are described, “Each alone, they go west or north, towards the mountains. They go on. They leave Omelas, they walk ahead into the darkness, and they do not come back” (Le Guin 4). These people don’t have anywhere to go and they probably do not know where to go. All that they know is that any other place would be better than Omelas. Any place that doesn’t sacrifice one child for the happiness of the whole city would be an improvement.
The people of Omelas believe that their lives are so great, but this is only because they are comparing their own lives with the life of the one child in the basement. The people then slip because they don’t want to disturb the utopia that they live in, but in reality, saving the child probably would not change their lives, it would only change their perception of their own lives. Without the child to compare themselves to, their lives would just be mediocre. Le Guin describes their lives, “They were not simple folk, you see, though they were happy. But we do not say the words of cheer much any more. All smiles have become archaic” (1). The fact that their smiles have become “archaic” proves that their lives are not perfect, but they have been taught that they live the best lives so that is what they believe. They may live good lives compared to the one child, but that still doesn’t mean they can’t get better. The happiness that they once felt would still be there but they would not have a basis to evaluate their happiness because they would all be equal. This idea argues that the townspeople slip because of their own naivety. They want to continue their good lives but they do not realize that it all doesn’t have to depend on the one suffering kid. Therefore, they slip into the cycle of doing nothing about the problem.
The idea that slipping means returning to your old ways even though you understand that something is wrong and you can do something about it reminds me of a Ted Talk that I made last year. My speech focused on the idea of vegetarianism. I talked about how vegetarianism has changed my identity and made me the person I have become. I am vegetarian because of moral reasons. I believe that all animals are equal and that none should be sacrificed for the happiness of humans. If I bring this concept up with my friends a lot of them seem to agree with me, so I ask them if they have even considered becoming vegetarian. Usually the answer is yes, but then they come up with an excuse for not following through with the idea. This frustrates me a lot. They know that they can do something pretty easy in order to save the lives of many animals, but they chose not to. I believe that this means that they are slipping. They are making the choice to return to their normal lives knowing that they could be helping other animals, but they chose not to. Similarly, the people of Omelas sacrifice one child in order to maintain their happy lives. In my experience, the people who chose to continue eating meet are like the typical Omelas residents because they are OK with sacrificing others for their own pleasure and good. I hope that if I lived in Omelas that I would have the courage and understanding to walk away and support the idea of change in an effort to promote equality.
Le Guin, Ursula. The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas. The Wind's Twelve Quarters:
Short Stories.