The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas

In the story "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" by Ursula Le Guin, the narrator of the story (whom which was never identified) explains his or her belief that "we" (presumably enlightened, contemporary westerners) have a ''bad habit, encouraged by pedants and sophisticates, of considering happiness as something rather stupid." I sat and thought about this statement, and thought about how this generation can contribute to this quote. “We” at times may seem like we have the “I don’t care” or “whatever” attitude, but whether we are out there buying material things, looking to boyfriends or girlfriends to put a smile on our faces, or going on a missions trip to help others, I believe this generation doesn’t think of  happiness as “stupid.” Fathers think if I could just get this great job I would be so happy, mothers think if I could be a stay at home mom I would be so happy, teenagers think if I could just lose this weight or if I could just get the courage to ask this girl on a date it would make my night. We are always looking for happiness whether it’s on purpose or if it wasn’t intentional, happiness is something I believe all generations strive to get. It’s the “Pursuit of Happiness.” Maybe the author is right, maybe we do think it is “stupid,” but our actions say otherwise. I know that the author was probably talking about contemporary westerners, but I could only think of how this generation thinks and acts about happiness. This story made see how the people in Omelas were happy people, well at least described to me that was how it seemed. I thought about if we as people could genuinely be happy for one another and to strive for true happiness in Christ instead of the material things, the question would be, would happiness be forgotten, invisible or even stupid when you put Christ in it?