What is wrong with this picture?

Okay, first of all, this:



But no, that's not the picture I was referring to. Here we see a map:

I saw this a while back with a caption that was something like "this is how the world should be."

Cool, right? If only, if only, etc.

No. Not cool, and not okay. This is one of the things that is wrong with the world these days.

(This is the part where you shout with outrage "And you call yourself a nerd!!!??")

Trust me, I'd go live at hogwarts in 1/256th of a second, if I could. Terabithia would be spectacular. And Narnia... dude. Not even a question.  But let us examine the lower right hand corner. There we find Panem, location of the Hunger Games series.

Do I love the Hunger Games?

Yes. Yes I do. 

Movie AND book?

Oh, yeah. 

Would I ever want to live in Panem?

Are you out of your freaking mind? 

Think about it. Would you want to live in a place where a only a very minuscule percentage of the population had enough food to eat, and didn't have cops breathing down their necks?

Where you or your kid could be randomly selected to go slaughter other young kids in a televised blood bath, and most likely get killed in the process?

Where basic needs like soap and grain are so highly regulated that getting access to enough of them is literally to put your life on the line?

Guys, as great a story as the Hunger Games is (and it really is), it isn't like Narnia or LOTR. Those books were written specifically to transport us to awesome new worlds. To take us on the grand tour of these amazing and magical places. (Have you ever wondered why LOTR is so dang long and descriptive? Well, now you know.)

The Hunger Games, on the other hand, is to remind us not to take for granted what we already do have, and to not lose track of our humanity as technology and society progress.


Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that map wasn't great. I'm just saying that humans really do tend to take way too much for granted. They don't pay attention to stuff, and one of these days, it's going to come around and stab us in the back. If we're not a little more conscientious about saying things like "Oh, the Hunger Games would be awesome" or "dude, I'd live in the Panem part" then sooner or later, that's what will actually happen.

The better part of societal digression doesn't happen all of the sudden. One bad leader can be a dreadful thing, but societies elect bad leaders, and fall into ruin when the people stop paying attention to what's important.

Ancient Rome, anyone?

So, yes, the movie is good. Yes the books are good. Yes, it's fun to play paintball or laser tag in a fake Hunger Games style. But would the real Hunger Games be fun? No. No it would not. Would living in Panem be fun? Not on your life.

So just keep an eye out for that kind of stuff. For me, if nothing else. Don't let my faith in humanity drain away too quickly.

Oh, and for anyone who cares, this appears to be the original fantasy worlds map, made before a lot of the current fads.

Not many people care about fantasia anymore. It's too bad about Oz being nixed. I admit, though, Camp Half-blood would be a wicked awesome place. And I could never live in a fantasy world without Hogwarts. So that revised map really had a lot going for it, but no, it should not have added Panem.











Well, that's my soapbox for tonight. (And as I type that, I remind myself to be everlastingly grateful that I live in a place where I'm even allowed to have soapboxes and free information and internet access. And Doctor Who gifs.)

May the odds be ever in your favor.