failure in the eyes of those who don't join you
failure to recognize "real" problems
escapism from truth
fantasy
harsh reality of where you actually live
isolationism when you find out the consequences of the surrealness of it
all
+ 's = more time for music, no hunger, no war
- 's = hunger, poverty, destruction
living communally
musicking
elimination of 'fer' - facism-ethnocentrism-racism
clean earth
a one world tribe
continuation of human experiment
participation
happiness
cooperative with nature
personal and economic destruction (no job, inability to survive)
total lack of responsibility
total world chaos (if everyone ultimately believed, the world as we know
it
now would be dramatically different)
peaceful coexistence
higher standards of living
overall raised level of Platonic love
living a fun life
being free of stress
having all life's necessities for everyone
accidental hubris (believing Gaia will always provide)
allowing oneself to be deceived by western capitalism hellbent on global
hubris (for a profit)
being too ethnocentric to consider other cultures
reality isn't as pleasant
many do not experience such
pleasures
depressing if it is not true to them
happiness
less working, more playing
coexistence with nature
inner peace
living in harmony with one's environment
living in harmony with other creatures
disappointment
betrayal
shattered hope
recreation
procreation
creation
recreation>procreation>creation>peacefulness and happiness stem from these
ignorance
delusion
stupidity
out of touch with pop
culture
not being able to function in a capitalist money-driven world
not realistic
mother nature is good
nature is balanced
nature is the center (of society!)
not being able to be content in today's "reality"
creative overload, too much happiness
families might get too big, you might mix up cousins names or something
not achieving what is important
ignoring all the amazing things life has to offer
avoiding hedonistic aspects of life
confusion
depression
unhappiness
total non-participation
alienation from the 'real' life
fear of a black planet
lack of responsibility
economic destruction
destructive
chaos
death
prison
hospitalization
peace between all people
respect for the earth
disappearance of imperialism
no purpose in life
negative
outlook
everything is as it should be in black and white
losing your sanity
conforming to a group
joining a band
ignoring or overlooking the non-benign realities of the world
today
not trying to solve the problems
i can't think of another consequence because believing in benign reality
doesn't seem like it would really have many
you could get too excited, you might die
Author's Note:
The title of this poem was an exam question in Musics of the World last semester; the answers are taken verbatim from the pile of graded exams with people who got A's answers at the top of the page and low scoring exam taker's answers finishing off the "found poem". I infer that pessimism and optimism have little to do with whether or not you are an A or a D student in Musics of the World.
Pub. Feb. 1999