Guilty For Life

Guilt. I would like to make the assumption that everyone in the world has, at one point, felt guilt. I recall when I was child; I would behave bad and feel guilty all the time. But what does feeling guilty all the time really mean? When we are young we are exposed to television shows and books such as The Tell-Tale Heart where guilt manages to manifest and causes beloved characters to suffer an abnormal amount of guiltiness. The idea of feeling guilty constantly about the misery of others is hard to fathom. I believe that it is near impossible to constantly feel guilt for others’ misery. In “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas,” only those who allow guilt to manifest to the point of insanity walk away, they walk away alone. Humans, being social creatures, feel guilt often as a social correction; however, this stems into morality, principles, ethics and rationality. This can be demonstrated collectively as well, such as the children from Omelas who are exposed to the child in the basement in groups. Often when guilt is felt collectively, acceptance tends to be easier. This is why the majority of people from Omelas do not leave. This is why I feel that guiltiness cannot be constant, but rather served in portions. Even in today’s society, with the knowledge of all the suffering children undergo in sweatshops and kilns, we still indorse companies that employ such working conditions; and for what? A cheap pair of shoes, but as we strut in these shoes, does every footstep remind us of the child who suffered to make them?