To Walk Away or Stay?

To live in Omelas, a resident is forced to make a moral sacrifice. In order to receive the benefits of comfort and happiness that come with residing in the Utopian city, a person must accept the cruel and unusual torture of an innocent child. The child has done nothing wrong, but it is essential that Omelas keeps the young person to torture in order to maintain the picture perfect order of things in society. Every citizen knows of the medieval mistreatment, and some choose to see the abused child. While some return home in disbelief and rage, others chose to leave the community because they cannot accept the terrible paradox of the tortured child.
I would not be able to accept the unjustified cruelty towards the innocent child, so I would choose to leave Omelas. I could not live with myself, knowing that the one person would have to suffer an indescribable amount, in exchange for my happiness. My main issue with the paradox is that the tortured person is a child that has done nothing wrong; they have not yet had the chance to make mistakes deserving of punishment. Although it would not be acceptable to torture anyone in such a disgusting and twisted manner, the use of an undeserving youth makes the city's policy a heightened degree of sick. I understand that with choosing to leave, I would have to venture out into the unknown and unexplored world on my own, with no guidance. I would accept this intimidating condition without hesitaion, because I would not be able to live among people that encourage the misery of an innocent child.