When Happiness Becomes a Fringe Thought

Namaste readers,

Recently I have just started watching the TV series known as Fringe, and I've been enjoying it immensely. I'm only up to episode six so far...I know, I have a lot of catching up to do. But I've done a little reading up on the series, and while I didn't read enough to spoil all the seasons and the ending, I did read that the intro for the fifth and final season is different from the others.

Here it is:

Apparently the text in the season five opening represents ideas that have become the "fringe" in the setting of the TV show. In other words, by the time the story progresses to season five, things like joy, imagination, and even the very concept of freedom have all become "fringe" ideas.

The time setting for season five is the year 2036. Yet here we are in 2014...and the ideas in this TV intro are already being pushed to the fringe. It's not just happening in America, either. The whole world is in the process of making these ideas seem like those of a lunatic fringe.

Yes, I'm scared about the future. And I don't see much hope either. I know some say we should focus on the present...that the present holds the key to happiness. But when the present society seems keen on pushing the idea of happiness outside of its possibilities...what else will follow happiness on its way out?

Okay, this post is getting a bit depressing, and I'm starting to sound like a hypocrite. It's just hard to maintain a state of functionality when happiness seems to be the antithesis of progress. I honestly don't know what to do.