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.

May 2001