The Midgar Effect II

by Brandon Blair 

I enjoyed the editorial regarding the Midgar effect, but I feel it lacks a certain concept that envelopes the entire predicament humankind is in today: We have no grasp on anything BUT technology.

As we are raised, we are taught that as technology advances and spreads, things become easier and much more efficient. We are taught to contribute to society's machine in a number of ways. I recall my parents pushing me feverishly to go to college. "Go to college; it's the way to go nowadays. You won't be able to find a decent job in this market unless you've got a nice degree." We have no grasp of things existing on any other level. Politicians can take blame for what goes on behind curtains, Congressmen can bear the weight of our qualms, but we are all to blame, and I don't see it getting better at all.

Congressmen and Policians in general don't look at the "earth" perspective. Somewhere along the line, we are bred to believe in the power of inexhaustible money and the power of the government. It's not like we could survive without a government anyway... This is why it's such a one way street, friends. Our species breeds itself to embrace "faster, easier, and more efficient," and in doing so, we destroy the world and our awareness of its existance. The actual planet we inhabit has been reduced to tourist spots, well-manicured lawns, and slaughterhouses. This fuels business, and business is all we can fathom. If my father, or any other human being in his/her right mind were to ask me, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" and I replied, "I want to live away from technology, in a forest untouched by human hands, growing my own food," they would either laugh or put me away in an asylum. To humans nowadays who actually appreciate the environment, a life-long vacation is wishful thinking, far from a reality.

Why? Because it's outside our thinking. To shun society and move away without possessions or comfort objects is ludicrous. I can't remember all the times I'd stay awake at night on the phone with my friends, speaking out against the discontent of this world, wanting to get away. We used to promise that we'd move into the forests, and have adventures, and live off the land; then reality struck. The words we spoke when we promised we'd not end up like all the others died away as we attempted to ignore them uncomfortably, until we ended up where we are now, slaving under the whip of this paradigm. It cannot change... The introduction of easier life and governing took away our self-survival instincts and skills, as well as the knowledge of a world outside stocks, bonds, burgers and interior decorating. The path we chose destroyed any chance of "uninstalling" our fate or restarting. It was self-destructive, and has scarred this planet forever. We could not survive outside this sphere of society.

I leave you with a few more examples, fairly simple incidences of the moronic bliss we live in. We use natural resources that deplete and cannot (repeat, cannot) be replaced, because it benefits us now. Our society is like a selfish child, living in the now. We ignore the fact that we have landfills littering our planet. Waste. Trash. We just dump it and hope to our god that it won't stack up against us, because it benefits us now. Businesses buy land and dump sewage or toxic waste because it costs less and gives them money. Who has the time or expenses nowadays to think about the fact that the planet has kept us alive for our entire existance? I hope we do get what's coming to us. I think Midgar was a very effective solution. I would love to forget all of this emotional drivel and just let someone provide for me in exchange for mindless work; to have no thought to the future, no dreams. Unfortunately, it all goes together. I'll continue to worry about my future, and my clothes, my job, and perhaps every once in a while I'll watch a movie that enlightens me to my meager existance, and for a brief moment, I'll think outside of this sphere. A brief moment.

Pretty depressing, isn't it? It's best to just forget, and try to laugh every once in a while. And don't forget to play some good games. After all, that's how you ended up here in RPGamer in the first place, right?