Unexpected Consequences

Life always has unexpected consequences.

It started out with J mentioning that he wanted to buy himself a new gaming system. Probably for Christmas. Alright fine, I don't really care.

But, he said with worry, we only have one TV. What if D wants to watch TV and J wants to play a game?

Hadn't really been a problem before. At one point we'd had two TVs. Then when we got rid of the second one, J had mostly played computer games. So it's a new dilemma. What to do.

Well I guess we're buying a second TV. I figured we'd put it in the guest bedroom.

J doesn't want it in the guest bedroom.

And that's where things really get crazy.

I've been thinking back to the poor CEO who gave everyone a raise in his company. The minimum salary is $70,000. Doesn't that sound great? What could possible go wrong? Everyone has enough money to live and be happy.

Nope. There is a human condition known as jealousy. Some people received huge pay raises - most likely the ones with little skill - but the ones who had worked hard, furthered their education, and put in long hours, were not happy with their small (in comparison) raises.

It's interesting. I can see both sides. On the one hand, you want your hard work rewarded. You want to be recognized. You want to know that your company values you. You might feel resentment.

On the other hand, how is a person making more money affecting your life negatively? You make a bit more than you did yesterday, so your life has improved. Your coworkers now have a better standard of living. Maybe they can start planning to put their kids through college or pay off debt. Consume more goods, help the economy. It really does not affect your life in a way that you should be upset.

But feelings are hurt. Human emotions can't be turned off. Valuable people who worked for the company have quit. Apparently there have been negative consequences that the well-intentioned CEO did not anticipate. It makes me sad. The poor CEO was trying to help people and do a good thing and people are calling him names and acting like he's the biggest idiot.

I was talking it over with J and he said that little scenario would work in a Vulcan society because people could see the logic behind it.

Which brings me back to my original point about my nerd boy.

Unintended consequences. Ripples from a pebble in a river. Butterfly wings causing a hurricane and all that. J now needs an official game room. He wants to rearrange the entire house. The couches, TV, dining room table, and other various pieces of furniture are no longer in their original spot. All because of one game system.

That we haven't even bought yet.

The fur children are so confused.