Once upon a time there was a community. In this community everyone wore the same uniform. It was easier that way. The men all wore black suits, white shirts, black hats, and black shoes. The women all wore black skirts, black shirts, shoulder length wigs, and black rubber-bottomed flat shoes. The clothing stores in the community were only allowed to sell these kinds of uniforms. The stores were also only allowed to sell certain sizes. People couldn’t get too fat or too skinny, or the stores wouldn’t have their size. This encouraged everyone to maintain a figure that was similar to everyone else’s. Those who couldn’t keep to the size regulations had to wear ill fitting uniforms and felt ashamed. This encouraged them to diet or gain weight as necessary in order to conform. It was a good system.
In this community, the ladies and gentleman kept apart from each other. They shopped in stores during different hours, they sat separated by a tall partition during religious services, they sat separately on public buses, they went to separate schools, they worked in separate establishments, and in some places, they even walked on separate sides of the street. Men and women unrelated to each other were not allowed to speak unless it was necessary. No physical contact, like a handshake, was permitted under any circumstances. Boys and girls past the age of three were not permitted to play together. This fostered close friendships between those of the same gender, and made it so that the two different sexes only intermingled for purposes of procreation. This system eliminated a lot of unnecessary drama and trauma that occured in societies where the two sexes mingled freely. It was a good system.
In this community, access to information from other communities was not allowed. Citizens were not allowed to read books, magazines, or newspapers from other communities. They were not allowed to own television sets or watch movies. The people were not allowed to go to the theater, visit an art museum, attend an opera, or listen to music created outside the community. People were not allowed to own computers unless it was absolutely necessary for work. They certainly could not have access to the internet. In the same vein, citizens were not allowed to own a smart phone that would provide access to the internet. Eschewing contact with the outside world made the citizens feel like they were the epicenter of the universe. They were unaware that there were other people out there with innovative ideas, different visions of the world, or new ways of creating societies. Because they were unaware of different possibilities, the people were happy and content with their community. It was a good system.
One day, the elders of the community gathered together. There was a problem. Some of the people had been communicating with the outside world. They had disregarded the decrees about internet usage, books, television, and movies. They had smuggled televisions into their homes disguised as microwave ovens. They had been infected with foreign ideas and, like a virus, new ideals and desires were contaminating the community. Curiosity was spreading like a plague and the elders were helpless to eradicate the foul disease. Furthermore, there were some women who were secretly violating the uniform standards. They were wearing colors, long wigs, fancy glasses, and shoes with heels that made noise. The elders saw that it was not good.
There was only one solution. They would hold a town meeting and let citizens know that anyone who continued to defy the orders of the elders would be ostracized from their society. Since people weren’t listening to the elders, the elders would turn over rule enforcement to the schools. Anyone who didn’t attend the town meeting would have their children expelled from school. Anyone who didn’t wear the community uniform or continued to communicate with the outside world would have their children expelled from school. Anyone who had their children expelled from school would be effectively banished from the community. The schools would now decide who deserved to stay in the community and who did not, relieving the elders of the burden and the blame. It was a good system.
