More Important Things

Well, it appears that the rain has stopped…at least for a time.  It’s cloudy out and cool.  Much too cool for May 30, 2015.  But that’s the way it is and we can’t change it even if we wanted to do so.

Which brings me to the topic of the day.  Suppose we could change that outdoor thermostat.  Suppose it was there, out there on a power pole somewhere, and we could just go up to it and select “heat” or “cool” or turn it up or down.  Can you just imagine the fights, screams, and outright inhuman behavior that would result?

We’d have gangs protecting the “territory” around the thermostat so no one else could get to it.  We’d have to have a federal agency to promulgate regulations so we didn’t get things too warm or too cold.  We’d have controlled access, but by whom would be an open question.  Some would like it warmer.  Others are having hot flashes and want it cooler.  And who knows what some folks would like.

Control of the outdoor thermostat would be of greater importance than what’s going on in Iraq.  Control of the outdoor thermostat would take precedence over a promotion at work or going on vacation.  Control the outdoor thermostat…and you control the world.  It’s mind-boggling to even think about it.

Someone would sell “time” with the thermostat.  For $1,000 you could set the thermostat to whatever you wanted for an hour.  And then there would be apps on your phone that would track what the thermostat was set on, who set it, and when it is supposed to be changed.  Someone would try to hack into the controls and bollix things up.

Then there would the lawsuits that would come when someone turned it too high or too low and plants froze or someone died of heatstroke.  It would be a litigation nightmare and a gold mine for lawyers.

Yes, it would definitely bring out the worst in folks.  And quickly.  I’ve often thought about what society would be like if for even a couple of days there was nothing on grocery shelves.  Or no gas in the fuel outlets.  Or electricity in the wires and lines.  Or there is no water in the faucets or natural gas in the pipes.  Just how benevolent and kind would we be toward one-another, and just how much (and how quickly) would we revert to the “everyone for himself” attitude?

We’re just a few hours away from chaos in society.  We’ve seen it in the blackouts that used to happen with some regularity.  We’ve seen it in disasters that have befallen cities and states.  We’ve seen the best; we’ve certainly also seen the worst.

I don’t know that I ever want to see what really happens.  But I do know that there are things much more important than whether there is food on the shelves and water in the pipes.  And we would do well to “think on these things,” as the Good Book says.