An Apocalyptic Path

The polls from the Tweople are back!

This week’s question:

If the world crumbled into a dystopian state, what would you do?

Maybe I’m taking this question a little too seriously, and I’m not one to get too deep on a public platform, but it feels important to know.

Do you hunker down, run for it, or fight the oppressors?

Keep your head down and run away with your family came in at a tie.

And I get it, really I do. If the world gets scary, self-preservation kicks in. You have to provide for yourself and your dependents. It seems impossible for one person to make a huge difference.

Let’s keep this a literary discussion, so…

What would have happened if Katniss hadn’t stood up and volunteered? Or if she had just stabbed Peta to survive the Capitol’s game?

How soon would Harry Potter have died if Hermione had said “Not my fight” and made different friends? She didn’t have a great destiny. She only had a will to do the right thing. To fight against the forces of evil.

Keep going. Take every story where good eventually wins and there will be one person who refused to turn their back. Who didn’t hunker down or run away. One person who started a wave of change that altered the course of their imaginary world.

If life imitates art, then who are we supposed to aim to be?

And maybe it doesn’t take a grand act of bravery, but many people taking small steps side by side.

One voice choosing kindness and compassion can inspire a chorus of hope. One person refusing to turn their back on the wrongs of this world can begin a line of people standing side by side, saying this is the line we will not allow humanity to cross.

Run, hide your head in the sand, or turn and face the wrongs of the world head on. What’s your choice?