Relative Something

Imagine if we didn’t hear news the instant things happen. What would it be like if we could put the genie back in the bottle? Can we just download an app for that?

What if democracy worked without it being so easy for fascist threats to simmer in broad daylight for days that become months and now years? Maybe if we didn’t hear news every second, it wouldn’t seem so obvious.

I’m imagining what it would be like if our toes never got cold. How about if no addiction existed? While we are imagining, why not turn Thanksgiving into a gift-giving holiday? A brand new car could become the new tradition. I’ve seen the ads on TV. The car companies want us to accept that giving a new car is the universally accepted standard of holiday gift giving.

I’d sure be thankful if someone gifted me a new car. An electric one. Preferably, Subaru. Can I pick the color?

I’d be thankful if all criminals were instantly incarcerated and innocents set free. Like magic. No long drawn-out trials. The universe knows what is right and wrong and could figure out who did or didn’t do it.

I like to imagine that the stories are true that Billionaires paying a fair percentage in taxes would ease a lot of fiscal stress on government programs without great hardship to said Billionaires. Then, I imagine that all Billionaires suddenly paid that fair share they owe.

Same thing for the $900Millionaires and the $800M, $700M, et cetera.

What if tendons and ligaments never stretched or tore and bones wouldn’t break during athletic competition? That’d be great. Oh, and I’d like it if NFL receivers never dropped passes that should have been easily caught. Sure, it would benefit the competition as much as the home team, but I think it would make the game more fun to watch. It bothers me to see highly paid professional athletes not succeeding at the basic skill level they are supposed to perform.

At the same time, I am forever grateful to have chosen a career path that didn’t involve tens of thousands of screaming fans micro-analyzing my every action or decision. I dropped the ball plenty of times.

I saw a news flash about charges filed against a person running a brothel near Washington, D.C., with a mention that the customers were politicians, military, and business leaders. What if none of these guys lowered themselves to that level? I like to imagine being led by people who behave with the highest integrity at all times and also that no sex workers ever find themselves in circumstances that lead them to choose that line of work.

When I find myself returning to reality, I imagine myself reducing my news exposure long enough to forget all the things that send me into fantasies of people behaving better than their best selves.

But really, imagine that.

.

.