Frank And Society
Frank believed happiness came from managing expectations of society. He managed expectations of politicians, accepting they lied (at least disassembled,) often failed to keep promises, on occasion sexually harassed their office staff and could be remarkably vague when bookkeeping. Frank’s key to happiness: lowered expectations of society.
These days, Frank wondered how to lower his expectations further.
Wars were declared won but continued (forever wars, an ominous name), death dropping from the sky. Prices went up, air quality went down, the climate was off in the ozone (what was left of it.) The Government continued to promise all was fine (or would be soon.) The news was depressing, the empire fading. Frank could lower expectations on his life, his career, even his family—but his entire society?
Perhaps the problem was divisiveness—people cared too much, wasting energy by arguing about what to do. Frank built a machine sending radio waves throughout the nation: the impact was no one would care about society. Imagine Frank’s surprise when nothing changed. He had not realized the obvious: society had sunk because already no one cared. He now had an opposite goal: how could he make people care about the society they lived in?
We evolve beyond villages to cities to megalopolises, from talking to texting, to building while ignoring consequences. The bigger the nation, the more distant for the average person, the more left to the selfish elites to manage. Eventually, the nation declines until its monuments are forgotten dust.
Frank’s news solution was to create a monument lasting thousands of years, listing his society’s mistakes. He believed people would learn. Hope goes a long way.