Once Upon A Time…
Once Upon a Time there was a land ravaged by hundreds of years of hate and division. Because the land’s riches came from forced and exploited labor, the powerful and wealthy were reluctant to remake the systems to ease the suffering of the people. And because those that benefitted were few in number, they had to maintain the allegiance of the masses. They did so not with social goods, but the promise of safety from “the others.” Allegiance did grow, and sadly, suffering alongside it. This wasn’t a system designed to solve or fix problems, just mollify dissent and harden loyalty. It was a cruel system. Crueler still because the people were told grand stories of it being a land of milk and honey destined for them - a place where anything was possible. These distortions hid the horrible truth. They enabled the rulers to ignore the past, and continually mortgage the present, trading on the hopes of a better tomorrow. Not for everyone of course, but only some of those who followed the rules very, very well. In reality, the rewards were more random...often dolled out to those most adept at elbowing their way into opportunity. But even these examples were held up as a spectre of possibility. People traveled the world, leaving all they knew behind, hoping to become beneficiaries of this lottery. Because allegiance to the story became a part of the people’s identity. It was who they were - believers of the dream. Not believing, or admitting that you didn’t believe, was dangerous. And likely to result in the scorn and wrath of the believers who might also be your neighbors, teachers, employers, and family.
During the plague of 2020 believers were given an impossible choice...accept a life-saving vaccine or continue pledging allegiance to the dream. Many died. The powerful tightened their grip on power, identifying groups of people who would gladly sacrifice for the story - even if that meant death. First it was the grandparents. Then it was the workers, who were told they were heroes. Then it was the children. As death tolls climbed it became harder and harder for believers to question their loyalty to the state and the system. Despite pleas from the dying and family members of the dead they continued to pledge their allegiance and forgo the free life-saving vaccine.
** This image is from the Aberdeen Bestiary. More of which can be learned about here.
*** It was challenging and fun to push myself to think this way, so I made a page where I could muse on shorter reflections.