Utopia:
Welcome to World 1, a place where you have everything you could ever dream of. The sun is constantly out, it’s never too cold or too hot, it’s just right. It’s a place where you can buy all the clothes you’ve ever found cute. You can eat whatever your stomach desires, regardless of the cost. You live a life of luxury, with a big house, and a pool. Your worries consist of choosing between bubble tea and coffee for the day. The only inconvenience you have in life is filling up your car with gas once a week. Now I know what you’re thinking, what’s the catch? But there is none, this world really is perfect. It’s one of joy, love, and friendship; a world you will never want to escape.
Dystopia:
Why are you in World 2? This is not a friendly world we live in…here you won’t have any food unless you plan on risking your life for it. There is no clean water because the filtration system was destroyed. The sky is constantly grey just like our lives. You only have 3 shirts, 1 pair of pants, and no laundry machine. Don’t worry, you have a home – it’s a little tent that you share with your family because all the infrastructure is now rubble. It’s normal to see blood on the streets as you find places to hide. You barely remember what comfort or happiness looks like, they’re a distant memory, far far away. Every time you ask for help, people tell you you’re lying. There is no hope in this world, you will only want to escape. I suggest you do not enter, please go away.
Reality:
Hello, you are now in World 3, this is where you actually live, you did not have a choice where to go. There’s a spectrum in this world between Utopia and Dystopia. You have the privilege of living on the side of ‘Almost Utopia’, but there are others who are not as lucky. Your life is not perfect of course, however, it’s as close as it can get to this reality. You can still get whatever your stomach desires occasionally. You have a medium-sized house, with your own room. You go shopping for clothes once every season, with some shopping sprees in between (but only when you really need them). It’s a life of adequate comfort considering where you land on the spectrum between Utopia and Dystopia. You don’t think too much about the people on the other side though, you just assume their problems are too big for you to solve. After all, you are just one person, you can’t fix their malnutrition or their infrastructure. You don’t even fully understand why they aren’t living in an ‘Almost Utopia’ with you. Regardless, you just go on with your life, hoping someone someday saves the people living in Dystopia.
The worlds described above are fantasy, however there is some truth to each of them.
In a general sense, utopia does not exist, dystopia does, and so does reality. Obviously, our reality is much more complex considering the nuances that exist when it comes to politics, history, and the economy. However, I believe that so many of us, including myself, are so hyper-fixated with our lives, that it is easy to forget those who live in a dystopia. We romanticize our ‘Almost Utopia’ as much as we can, so we become far away from reality. This is the world I want to escape. A world of ignorance, overconsumption, and lack of humanity.
As people living in the West, many of these dystopian realities seem so far away. We have issues within our own countries, but they are usually not as extreme. Living in multiple countries has allowed me to see different types of people and environments. In Egypt, it’s clear that regardless of social class, some people struggle to survive. There is a constant reminder to be grateful for what you have and to help in any way you can. Whereas in Canada, you’re not put in many environments where there are entire streets filled with people asking for food and water. You may see a couple of people occasionally, but it’s not the same. Maybe that’s why we’re so hyper-fixated with our own lives. Western society and this obsession with rising in the capitalist system teach us to compete. It’s so easy to be consumed by our own lives and lack sympathy for others when our surrounding environment is all doing the same. But we can’t give our humanity up just because of our privileged circumstances. There are real people out there who did not choose where to be born and ended up with a dystopian reality of atrocities and mass destruction.
Ways I try to escape this world:
1. I try to educate myself on what’s happening
I know this suggestion seems impossible for university students considering our lack of free time. Sometimes it can be really difficult to sit down and research – even I struggle with this at times – but there are so many resources out there. There are even events on campus to educate students on what’s happening in the world. I try to remind myself that there’s so much beyond what we find on our feeds. Why not learn about what’s happening in Sudan, Congo, Palestine, Ethiopia, Somalia, Syria (the list goes on)? I know it seems like a lot but if you learn in increments, it becomes much less intimidating. It’s better than living in our little bubbles, isn’t it? I feel we owe it to people to at least listen, learn, and acknowledge what’s happening.
2. I try to be more aware of my spending and I donate whenever I can
The capitalist system encourages consumerism for the sake of economic growth. It’s really easy to fall into the trap of overconsuming – in fact, I’m still trying to get out of it. Hearing things about the most recent sales, walking past my favourite coffee store, and even simple things like going out with my friends make spending money so tempting. But it’s not spending money that’s the problem; it’s how it’s spent. That’s why I have signed up for a monthly donation. Most of the time, I forget that part of my money goes towards a non-profit to begin with. It’s become part of my budgeting. Just like with gas and my coffee runs, I also have a portion being donated. Even the smallest amount makes somewhat of an impact. I also try my best to make sure the products I buy are ethical so that I do not contribute to the problems other people face. I find that there are a lot of lists online that provide information regarding what to boycott and why exactly to boycott.
As people living in the West, we must use our privilege wisely. We have so much in our lives that other people dream of, and yet we try so hard to live in a perfect utopia because we aren’t satisfied with what we have. But living in a perfect utopia means leaving the people suffering in dystopia behind. I know we can’t solve all the problems in the world, but we can each do our parts to make this world a place that we don’t want to escape. We shouldn’t just talk about changing our habits for the better, but act on this as well.