h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

The soul was greedy, and its captor was greedy, too.

There are contradictions in every society. This is endemic, and basically normal. "Free and equal" is the mantra for our modern democracies. But if people are free, then some will prosper more than others, ending up far from equal. If, as in most Communist societies, equality is stressed, then the citizens are not free.

the word this conflict is Cognitive Dissonance. No matter how we try to rationalize, there is always something off about our thinking.

Hello again! Well yes, Desideria will indeed feature many such cases of conflicts and cognitive dissonance. I'm trying to make the reader think a bit. Anyways … when it comes to freedom and equality there are many different roads to take. I would say we should strive for a harmony … if you push either to an extreme you get a distorted society.

"we should strive for a harmony" [Willem

That is exactly what keeps most societies going. It's a dynamic process, and it's never really a finished process.

Speaking of freedom … the gov says the word and suddenly we can't even go out of our homes! Not that I disagree with what needs to be done … but this puts the idea of us being free into some perspective.

There are different things that we need to be free from. We want to be free from a terrible illness that might kill us or make our lives miserable, or kill those near and dear to us.

The downside is retail workers whose stores are "nonessential," which means they are being freed from the incomes they need.

Free-lance musicians who do live shows are also suffering.

And don't talk about hotel workers. One of Trump's hotels now has an occupancy rate of 5%. Of the 174 employees, 160 have been laid off.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/mar-a-lago-shuttered-as-trumps-clubs-and-restaurants-suffer-from-coronavirus-fallout/2020/03/20/dae785c0-6ad2-11ea-b313-df458622c2cc_story.html

If this continues into the Summr, we will swelter in place.

I can't read that article … but it sounds lousy.

Over here I'm worried about many small businesses, especially the ones that rent in the malls. They are closed for three weeks but still have to pay rent ...