The real question everyone needs to ask themselves is which future are they willing to tolerate more. On one hand you have the real possibility of you personally dying, or a family member being killed. Losing your job, being homeless, having to watch your kids starve and freeze in the streets, going to prison, having your house burned down. A true nightmare scenario of real war and real death coming straight to your doorstep and possibly snatching away your life or the lives of your family in front of you.

On the other hand you have what is described above. You still have some kind of home, maybe it's pretty run down but it was the one assigned to you and it's better than the street. You get your weekly meal card issued, but it's generally enough food most of the time and no one in your family is starving, you wanted to lose weight anyways so it's easy to give most of your food credits to your kids and they get enough. You had your request for a vacation denied this year because you were overheard saying something a little to openly negative about the government at work. You didn't get shot for it of course, but you're not allowed to leave an area of 50 miles outside your assigned home for 6 months, and your overtime pay at worked will be paid at time and quarter instead of time and a half for the indefinite future. But hey, you still get 2 days off a week like normal. You still have a car (you can only buy gas on Wednesday and Saturday, and your privilege level dictates you can only get up to 5 gallons per day.), you still have a TV, your kids have an X-Box, you have a new smart phone. Granted the shows they play on TV, the games that are available, the apps you have or the videos you can watch on your phone are all a little too limited, a little too "off". Every cartoon on TV for your kids must have at least 1 black, 1 hispanic, 1 LTBTQ character and none can be villains, same for the games, but the cartoons are still funny and make your kid smile. You can even watch political videos on YouTube on your phone, though you've noticed they're always about ongoing scandals and people-drama between politicians. Your favorite YouTuber is an outspoken critic of the government for not immediately impeaching Sen. Soandso for having an affair, but you try not to think about how he's never really critical of any actual policies anymore. Just the political version of celebrity gossip.

Life is...predictable. You're alive, your kids are alive, you have a roof over your head, some food on your table, a few hobbies and distractions you can participate in that are mostly fun. You know that tomorrow you'll go to work, you'll do you 8 hours, come home, watch some TV, eat dinner, and go to bed and your house isn't going to be burned down and you're not going to get shot. You're not allowed to say certain things, you can't read certain books, you can't watch certain movies or shows, you're not allowed to say bad things about certain people or certain policies. You're kept in a box sure, but it's a mostly comfortable box and the box isn't killing you. Just make sure you don't go overboard with any opinions or ideas and risk getting arrested and having your predictable life taken from you (you've heard that's happened to a few old friends and colleagues you're not allowed to even mention on Facebook anymore) and you and your family will probably be pretty fine. Life is shabby, a little too grey, a little too joyless, a little too limited, and you know what your future will be and what your kids' future will be. Limited and static, but alive.

How many among us, deep down, would actually just accept option two and try to get by if it meant not having to see your wife shot in the street, or your kids trapped in your burning home, or look down at your own bleeding chest wound and know that no only are you about to die, but your family is going to be broke and homeless in a week. How many of us would really risk all that to keep option two from happening? Neither future is what any of us want, but which one is the one we'd be willing to just put our head down (or hold our chin high) and just accept if it came down to it?

The real question everyone needs to ask themselves is which future are they willing to tolerate more. On one hand you have the real possibility of you personally dying, or a family member being killed. Losing your job, being homeless, having to watch your kids starve and freeze in the streets, going to prison, having your house burned down. A true nightmare scenario of real war and real death coming straight to your doorstep and possibly snatching away your life or the lives of your family in front of you.

On the other hand you have what is described above. You still have some kind of home, maybe it's pretty run down but it was the one assigned to you and it's better than the street. You get your weekly meal card issued, but it's generally enough food most of the time and no one in your family is starving, you wanted to lose weight anyways so it's easy to give most of your food credits to your kids and they get enough. You had your request for a vacation denied this year because you were overheard saying something a little to openly negative about the government at work. You didn't get shot for it of course, but you're not allowed to leave an area of 50 miles outside your assigned home for 6 months, and your overtime pay at worked will be paid at time and quarter instead of time and a half for the indefinite future.But hey, you still get 2 days off a week like normal. You still have a car (you can only buy gas on Wednesday and Saturday, and you're privilege level dictates you can only get up to 5 gallons per day.), you still have a TV, your kids have an X-Box, you have a new smart phone. Granted the shows they play on TV, the games that are available, the apps you have or the videos you can watch on your phone are all a little too limited, a little too "off". Every cartoon on TV for your kids must have at least 1 black, 1 hispanic, 1 LTBTQ character and none can be villains, same for the games, but the cartoons are still funny and make your kid smile. You can even watch political videos on YouTube on your phone, though you've noticed they're always about ongoing scandals and people-drama between politicians. Your favorite YouTuber is an outspoken critic of the government for not immediately impeaching Sen. Soandso for having an affair, but you try not to think about how he's never really critical of any actual policies anymore. Just the political version of celebrity gossip.

Life is...predictable. You're alive, your kids are alive, you have a roof over your head, some food on your table, a few hobbies and distractions you can participate in that are mostly fun. You know that tomorrow you'll go to work, you'll do you 8 hours, come home, watch some TV, eat dinner, and go to bed and your house isn't going to be burned down and you're not going to get shot. You're not allowed to say certain things, you can't read certain books, you can't watch certain movies or shows, you're not allowed to say bad things about certain people or certain policies. You're kept in a box sure, but it's a mostly comfortable box and the box isn't killing you. Just make sure you don't go overboard with any opinions or ideas and risk getting arrested and having your predictable life taken from you (you've heard that's happened to a few old friends and colleagues you're not allowed to even mention on Facebook anymore) and you and your family will probably be pretty fine.

How many among us, deep down, would actually just accept option two and try to get by if it meant not having to see your wife shot in the street, or your kids trapped in your burning home, or look down at your own bleeding chest wound and know that no only are you about to die, but your family is going to be broke and homeless in a week. How many of us would really risk all that to keep option two from happening? Neither future is what any of us want, but which one is the one we'd be willing to just put our head down (or hold our chin high) and just accept if it came down to it?