Who Are They And Where Do They Go?

            I never really notice just how many people there are in the world until I take the time to pay attention to how many cars are on the road at any given time of the day. How does it tell me more than seeing a group of people? Because it points out how many people there are who don’t fit into an “ordinary” routine.

            To clarify, by “ordinary” I mean the typical 9-5 job that most people are assumed to have, although I've realized that assumption is very flawed. Being self-employed, I am often running my errands at the oddest of times. And no matter when I'm driving, the road is always filled with cars.

            It got me wondering – who are all these people? Where are they going and where are they coming from? Why aren't they at their 9-5 job at 2 in the afternoon?

            Naturally, it makes sense for some of the people to be there. Some are running errands for work, some (such as delivery and taxi drivers) are working, some are unemployed or self-employed with less strict schedules. Some work night shifts, others work evening shifts, so that time of day is the right time for them to be out and about.

            But there are so many! It is mind-boggling, at least to me, that the roads can be filled all day long. How can there possibly be so many people with so many places to go that there is always so much traffic?

            Sadly, it is one of the things I doubt I’ll ever know.

Click here to find the charity anthology containing a couple of my short stories.

If there's any subject you'd like to see me ramble on about, feel free to leave a comment asking me to do so.

Why Not End War?

*Disclaimer* Remembrance Day is a pet peeve of mine and, while expressing my ideas on the subject, what I say can sometimes come across as saying that veterans do not deserve our thanks. This is not the case – I simply believe they should not be hero worshipped because that leads to others following in their footsteps and suffering as the veterans have (or falling in battle, causing their families to suffer). I also believe that Remembrance Day should be focused on remembering the tragedies of war so we can stop repeating our mistakes. Gratitude to those who have sacrificed for us should be a constant, passive thing, not something that dominates a day that was once – and should still be – dedicated to peace. If you have strong emotions related to this subject, you may want to stop reading now.

            One day I thought to myself, wouldn't the world be a much better place if every country in the world disbanded their armies and ceased production of all weapons? What a wonderful world that would be.

            Then I stopped to think about what would actually happen.

            According to Wikipedia, Canada has 104,150 people in militaristic jobs. The UK has 371,360. USA, 2,231,447. I started to add up all the countries, then decided it would take too long. I was at over ten million, though, and I’d barely scratched the surface. This doesn't even include the researchers or the people who make the weapons and uniforms.

            So, what would happen if the world did away with war and violence? Mass unemployment. Certainly some of those jobs could be repurposed, but there already aren't enough jobs to go around.

            Why not just have those people in reserve, trained and ready in case we are attacked? Because if no one is fighting, people begin to wonder why their taxes are paying all these people. So the soldiers are sent off to fight – and often to die, which (dare I say it) “conveniently” eliminates the excess population that the world doesn't have enough jobs for.

            It all becomes a great cycle then. We need war so we can employ soldiers so people can afford to eat. If we eliminate war, the whole economy comes crashing down around our ears.

            Like many others, I dream of a world at peace, but it will never happen unless we drastically change the way our economy works. My vote is that we stop siphoning money off of arts programs and we flood the world with artists.

            That is something I’d like you to think about this Remembrance Day (or whatever November 11^th is in your country). I’d like you to think about how much society pressures us into remembering and thanking veterans, how we are taught that they are heroes so that more of us will follow in their footsteps.

            I want you to think about all the lives lost or ruined because we don’t know how to make the economy work without war. What a waste.

Click here to find the charity anthology containing a couple of my short stories.

If there's any subject you'd like to see me ramble on about, feel free to leave a comment asking me to do so.