If this question was asked, say seven or eight years ago, I’m pretty sure that I was gonna say yes.Things have changed, however, this me now would definitely go for the answer “NOPE”.The people there, they don’t suffer.They don’t have to suffer starvation, poverty or warfare, or perhaps anything else terrible.But in the meantime, they were kind of deprived of their freedom, their abilities to see the beauty, and their senses of feelings, and their accees to the rest of the world.What’s worse, they, except for the Receivers, can’t even realize what they’ve left behind a long time ago, back and back and back and back.Well, they do know that there’s somewhere like “ELSEWHERE”, and some of them would actually be curious about what it felt like to be outside.Unfortunately, though, they just never can know for themselves.
What troubled me most was the killing fact that they don’t have any feelings.When Jonas asked his father “do you love me?”, I was actually expecting his response as “of course I love you”.But his answer, OMG, had no sweetne.He told Jonas, his non-blood-related son, that he wasn’t using the word precisely.I mean, what kind of father is he?!! His answer made it clear to both Jonas and I how horrible it was if human had no feelings, good or bad.
Some say, without those abundant feelings they might be able to be happy, to live peacefully, and to enjoy their lives.But they just forget that, by then they won’t even know what “happy” means, by then, nothing makes sense any longer.
I’ve been through loes, sadnees, sorrows, even heartaches, and i won’t try to deny that they were like, extremely hard to accept, or to live with.But I’m more than sure that they, those unpleasant experiences and feelings, taught me how to cherish, how to be, how to let go, how to live, and how to love.The unsatisfactory side of life happen to be whatever emphasizes the importance of the sweet days, pleasant thoughts, unforgettable memories and beautiful dreams.It also colors our lives, and makes it complete the other way.
People in that community, are highly identical, not physically of course, but mentally.They perfectly explain the word “samene”, you know, as they obey the same rules, ride the same bikes, live in the same dwellings, use the same stuffed toys again and again, do the same volunteer work, and their jobs are chosen by other people who claimed to be authorities.Yes, they may have observed very carefully, but the kids are doomed to do same job they didn’t choose for themselves day after day, year after year, like it or not.They are somehow no more like humans, but gradually becoming just a bunch of robots obeying orders.When Jonas figured out that they had no idea what their lives were supposed to be, I thought, “oh gosh, that’s so so so pathetic!”.
I think we deserve the truth.Though sometimes the truth hurts, I’d rather live in a world with its everything known to all , instead of living in a huge lie.
It’s not all dark there, after all what they’ve done was their way to try to make things better, right or wrong.It’s not our place to judge, and it’s definitely beyond our abilities to change.But I still have the chance to choose to stay here, not to go to that motionle “heaven”.I give thanks to all the troubles and difficulties in my life, because they did force me to grow up, to be a tougher myself.
I promise that all the feelings including the hard ones, are like the little gifts from heaven, as much as they might hurt.And I will never ever trade them for a community like that.
