June 2009 Archives

As a species we are an utter failure.

Take a moment and look out your window. Get up from your chair, walk up stairs if you're in a basement, peer between the bars if you're in a jail, do what you must, but get a glimpse of the outside world. Just remember to come back and finish reading once you're done.

If you are reading this on the day I published it then chances are you just looked out on a glorious, sunny day without a cloud in the sky. But where are you now? Sat back in front of a computer, that's where.

Birds are singing, bees are buzzing, fish are swimming, all manner of creatures are going about their animal business, but not one of them is sitting in an office moving a little arrow around on a screen which makes their eyes hurt.

While aforementioned bees make honey, we voluntarily sit indoors creating systems for applying for passports online, choosing pictures to go with leaflets on safe lifting, making graphs about the volume of flat-bed trucks round international airports, or whatever it is we have convinced ourselves we need as a society.

We are self proclaimed 'kings of the world', but what are we doing with our reign? Creating a load of pointless systems and structures to keep everyone busy until they die.

I am well aware that if no one in the world turned up to work today there would be all sorts of horrible chaos, but if you didn't, just you, what would really happen? Would society collapse? Would the struggles of our ancestors be in vain? Would anything in fact be any different, except for the fact that you didn't spend a day of your short life sat at a computer waiting for the home-time bell to ring?

There are vital jobs in this world - doctors, farmers, power station operatives etc. But increasingly there are more and more jobs which contribute nothing to society - paparazzo, tax inspector, Ant and Dec and so on. How did we come to this?

I am in no way claiming to be above all this - as I type blue skies are nothing more than a tantalising glimpse through a window out the corner of my eye. But I intend to change this state of affairs.

You've only got one life and if it makes you happy feel free to spend it typing out spreadsheets and sending out jargon-filled emails. I for one am going to make hay while the sun shines.