Guilt is an unpleasant feeling felt by all human beings. It's a feeling that can creep up upon us at any moment and make us feel undeserving of what we have and helpless because we cannot do anything for those in need. Some people feel guilt more often then others and some more strongly, but is it possible for humans to feel guilty every second of everyday? I think the answer to this question is no.
Many of us are fortunate enough to have a roof over our heads, food, clean clothes, and the opportunity to be able to study at a post-secondary institution. But not everybody is as lucky. The majority of us watch TV and see ads for starving children in Africa in need of sponsors and donations and many of us hastily change the channel not wanting to see the images of sick children. We have all watched the news at one point or another and may learn of famine or a disease that is spreading in another part of the world. We see clips of natural disasters that have struck other countries and the destruction and number of casualties it's caused. Many of us do feel guilt after seeing these images. In that moment it can be heart wrenching to see what some people are having to go through while others are safe at home. The guilt may last a few minutes, hours, or even days, but eventually it fades. We aren't constantly exposed to these images so as time progresses what we have seen drifts from our minds as we become busy and engrossed with our own lives.
Everybody feels guilt differently. For some the feeling of guilt can overpower them to the point where it's to much for them to handle. I think that's how some of the people in Omelas felt when they saw the horrible image of the child suffering for the happiness of others. The guilt just consumed them to the point where they couldn't stay in Omelas and had to walk away. Others may have felt this same feeling but not to the same degree. They may have felt upset and angry over what the child was going through but it wasn't enough for them to leave. They may have also felt that leaving could not change the situation and that there was no possible way to help the child.
Naturally we all feel guilt at one point or another. Whether it comes from images that we've seen or from the hardships that people we know are suffering from, it's unavoidable. But sometimes without a constant reminder we tend to forget the guilt we once felt.
Hi Niki,
ReplyDeleteThank your for your response - it is both honest and convincing. You do a good job of combining real-world examples with references to your own life and to Le Guin's text. This balance is crucial for all of the blogging we do this semester.
I think your argument is compelling: it applies well to Le Guin's short story. Because guilt is a feeling that (in most cases) fades, it is possible for the citizens of Omelas to forget about the abused child on whom they depend for happiness. The same logic can be applied (as you show) to our own active forgetting of the high costs (economically, politically, socially) of our affluent life style.
I hope you continue to think about this issue. Are there any circumstances in which guilt can last forever? Are there ways that we can turn guilt into something more positive in order to keep it with us? Or, are we doomed to forget about the sources of our guilt?
- Patrick