Neil Gaiman writes the introduction to my 60th Anniversary copy of Fahrenheit 451, and proposes that there are three phrases that make it possible to write about the world of the future.

What if...

If only...

If this goes on...

Ever since I read this introduction a week ago I've continued to dwell on the last question in relation to the world around me.

If this goes on at school

If the funding of public schools continues to go the way it is currently going education will only be within the purview of the very rich. The school my children go to only has $1000 a year for all the library resources. That's new books and any other supplies that are made available in the library for kids.

They can't even afford a full-time librarian due to budget cuts so the wonderful person running the library has 2 other jobs within the school. The library isn't currently open enough every week that each class even gets a chance to use it weekly. Every other week kids get to look through an aging supply of books and take some home.

If this continues, then only those parents that can afford to send children to expensive private school will have the opportunity to access books regularly. Only those with parents that can afford the space and money it takes to purchase and store books at home will be able to dive deeply into books and fantasize about the world around them.

If this goes on in cities

One argument against my thoughts on school libraries above, is public libraries but if city development continues to go on as it is then libraries will only be able to be accessed by those with enough money to afford a car.

Around Prince George, the sidewalks become all but impassable for anyone that's not fully able to brave icy sidewalks. If you have a stroller, it's hard to get anywhere. If you're in a wheel chair, good luck. If you are older or have trouble with balance, you can't get anywhere in the city.

This week our local bus service also reminded us that the already long waits for buses may be longer in the winter. For my wife to take her heavy skating bag and get 2km to the arena means she needs to leave 60 minutes before her ice time. That leaves enough time to get to the bus stop, which then takes a long time to get to the arena and has my wife at work 30 minutes before the "early" time she needs to be there. In the winter, that bus may never come or may be so late that she'd be late for work.

To be able to make use of your city in most cities in North America you need to be a car owner because it's all designed around bringing value to car owners. This amounts to an extra tax on all citizens to be able to make use of their cities.

I'm sure this question will continue to haunt me as I look at the world around me, but a good question for all of us is, what can we do to change the trajectory that we're on for the better?

Should I be showing up to council meetings to complain that bike lanes become impassable in the winter and that plowing needs to be done in a way that doesn't just dump all the snow in the bike lane forcing cyclists out into the road where motorist squeeze by at high speed annoyed that you dare take up any space on their roads?

How should I be lobbying to get proper funding for our schools so that everyone gets a chance to learn regardless of their income?