Oblivion

• Phoebe Lee, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2017

The feeling of numb reality persisted and anaesthetized me. The war is how we communicate, the rest of it is just a new learning path. There is nothing to fear but fear itself. Fear is part of being human. We fail to comprehend that language is just a crude tool to communicate a concept. Often the reply to any question is not a reply but the ruminations of the brain of the other, dealing with what was said. Most of the time our dialogues are simply different ways to express the same ideas. If we communicate like two closed fists, we are doomed to repeat history. If we open our hearts and minds our ideas can come together to create peace and harmony, like open hands coming together to overlap, the fingers weaving together.

Perhaps we can't agree on climate change, but we can agree on the need to protect the ecosystems we all depend on and doesn't that give the desired result for all? Perhaps we can't agree on abortion, but we could work together to make a society where every child has enough food and good shelter - making abortion an illogical choice unless the life of the mother is at stake. If we think that debate equals argument and success is standing your ground, we'll never turn this ship around before we hit the iceberg, and then what? Will we fight over the arrangement of the chairs as we sink beneath the icy brine?"

The engineering of the war is something I'd like to take credit for, it wasn't easy. In this day and age, it would be so easy for the populations to communicate directly, understand each other's points of view and heaven forbid, become "friends." They had to hate one another, human nature helped of course. They all wanted to be "right" and "superior." Religion was such a wonderful vehicle for all that, a way of using the best parts of their natures to boost the worst parts instead of suppressing them. I'm telling you it was genius. I guess that makes me a genius. What? Am I ashamed? Not at all. We're still on top, aren't we? Life is cruel. Get over it.