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This month isn't about Asians, Indians, Africans or Caucasians. We won’t talk about how they disagree, interact or misunderstand each other. Let's face it, regardless of what is written here, racial disharmony will not be taking its leave anytime soon. Instead, I thought we might take a look at the culture of Inversia, a place I hope no one ever has to visit.

Dr. Bernard McGraine and Dr. Inge Bell began a chronicle of this fantasyland many years ago, updating it every four years in the hopes of comforting those stuck in Inversia. Forgive me for being so vague. Inversia is a place/world/society/school where everything is as it ought not to be. It is populated by a people who eek out lives of quiet desperation. In addition to the racial aspects, Inversia’s culture is a fascinating conglomeration of people originating from many corners of the world, all bent on surviving and getting ahead. It is a place where the people have forgotten who they are or what they want. In fact, they willingly let outside influences tell them what to want and how to go about acquiring it. That’s just the tip of the iceberg.

McGraine and Bell point out these troubling features in the hopes of waking up the drones of Inversia. But none choose to listen to their unsettling words. Specifically, they beg for the teachers of Inversia to realize how much harm they are doing to their students - how scolding and making learning punitive scars the youngsters for the rest of their lives. They plead for the parents to unconditionally love their children instead of relinquishing their dangling compassion for the cost of a college acceptance letter. They ask that the society not prioritize individual/monetary/status achievement so that the people not end up as lonely shriveled versions of their younger livelier selves with nothing to show but a padded bank account. But they don’t want to hear it. Inversians thrive on hurting themselves in the name of progress. They are taught when they are young to compete and feel briefly content only after they have outscored their rival. Even if it means their best friend. They are instructed and conditioned to turn a blind eye to learning in school, for the sake of copying, memorizing and getting the regurgitated A+. Then, after a short lived celebration, they begin to compete again for the acceptance of the next level of school and then the high paying, prestigious job, etc. All the while, they were completely fine with neglecting their own mental health and whatever other negligible things like friends, family, life itself...

Here’s the thing. Inversians aren’t stupid by any traditional means. They are just strongly reinforced to fit into this mentally suicidal way of life. Visitors might often hear phrases like, “That’s the way life is” or “No pain no gain.” The governing powers of Inversia have a million other ways besides those common sayings of keeping their well-oiled machine in working order. They have soldiers dressed in civilian clothing watching for any potential wrenches or sabots. No one ever dares to stray from the path in fear of persecution from their well-institutionalized family and friends. In Inversia, they even have blatant advertisements showing a geek in a crowd of “cool” people with the slogan reading “Don’t be that guy…”

I think I get them, though. Who wants to feel like the odd man out? I sure don’t want to be. But at what cost? More than not wanting to be the odd man out, I really really don’t want to be this disgruntled middle-aged career man who has a convertible bimmer for my clubbing nights and a Tag Huer timer counting down to happy hour. Inversians inevitably end up spit out and dried up, left with nothing but a feeling of empty achievement. No good friends to laugh with, maybe a dysfunctional family to beat on. The kicker lies here, though. Inversians are short-sighted - unable to see what occurred in the past causing them to end up miserable as they are today. They inadvertently pass the same wayward values of achievement to their children with the hopes that maybe if their kids get into Harvard or make ENOUGH money, they might be happy. Once in a while, though, an Inversian will have a beautiful dream about a place where people do care about each other and where life is experienced with family and friends instead of the canvas walls of a cubicle. Their mind wanders lazily to a place where suffering in a job isn’t praised for being “mature and responsible.” Then the Inversian wakes up, sits in traffic hoping not to be late for work.

After my initial visit to Inversia, I couldn’t stand watching their culture self-destruct. I wanted to fly home early, even if I had to buy a new ticket. Problem was, couldn’t find the airport. Never have.

I’m sure most of you have been asking why I bothered constructing such a transparent and cheesy façade. It was for the simple reason that I wish every day that it only was one.

This Book Is Not Required by Drs. McGraine and Bell.

TRY READING IT, please.

Illustration: "Ascending and Descending" by Escher