CONUNDRUM: An Invitation to Escapism

	Why worry about death
	when you can enjoy color TV?

	Why feel concerned about militarism
	if you can enjoy virtual fantasies?

	Why get upset about world hunger
	if you have plenty to eat?

	Why be upset about child labour
	if your offspring attend good universities?

	Why object to environmental rape
	if you have pleasing virtual landscapes?

	Is it possible to feel human
	unless we acknowledge sorrow and suffering?


Ying:     (sighing) If we were autonomous bubbles, there'd be no need to worry about things outside 
          our tiny spheres.

Dmiritri: We're not. In ways only God understands, we're connected to the entire creation.

Frida:    And as the world's population soars and technology advances, those connections 
          are getting harder and harder to ignore.

Satoru:   (raising his eyebrows) Huh? I have no idea what you are saying. Aren't deep things better unsaid?


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from Peace Pieces: Reflections on Violence and Conflict Resolution by T Newfields
SUMMARY:  A series of difficult questions about temptations towards illusory bliss and the reality of suffering.
KEYWORDS: apathy, escapism, pervasive suffering, pro-active living, social ennui

Author: T Newfields [Nitta Hirou / Huáng Yuèwǔ] (b. 1955)
Begun: 1997 in Shizuoka, Japan ⩝ Finished: Finished: 2021 in Yokohama, Japan
Creative Commons License: Attribution. {{CC-BY-4.0}} Granted

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Translations 

Chinese:  https://www.tnewfields.info/zh/nanti.htm
French:   https://www.tnewfields.info/fr/conud.htm 
German:   https://www.tnewfields.info/de/scherz.htm
Japanese: https://www.tnewfields.info/jp/mizu.htm
Spanish:  https://www.tnewfields.info/es/enigma.htm