For your own good!

[jbailey]

I've often wondered why people still run Windows? When I ask folks, sometimes I get comments of "I tried Linux 4 or 5 years ago, and it seemed too hard.", or "I just couldn't do without the latest features in application FOO.". These comments have always struct me as odd - As far as I can tell, GNU/Linux with Gnome is at about the state that Windows was, say, 1997 or 1998. While it's probably a step back in terms of raw functionality, it's incredibly usable. I think today, I've figured out the real reason why people run windows; The problem is, I think, reflective of a real problem with our thinking in general:

Is it possible that people are simply unwilling to give up the idea that the world around them should protect them from themselves? It would explain recent trends in North American and Western European government elections, magazines that talk about how our cancer rates, death rates and such are all other people's problems.

Maybe it's time for us all to buck up and take some responsibility for our lives. If I'm out of shape, perhaps I haven't gotten off my ass and worked out in the past week. Maybe if this winter weather is unusual, I should stop driving the car and find a gym closer to me. Maybe if the world out there feels a bit dangerous, it's because I'm not willing to go out and meet my neighbours and become friends and build real local community. Maybe I can remember to make a difference.