Consequences
Of The Civil War Revisited
Early
next spring the 150th anniversary of the end of the
American Civil War will be celebrated. Maybe.
Twenty-five
years ago there was definitely more fanfare throughout the country
during the 125th celebrations and observances that
occurred. I still have plenty of friends in the reenacting community.
It seems like that part of the population is still just as
enthusiastic as ever. This is good. We must never forget the
sacrifices that were made 150 years ago.
But
in a larger sense we have forgotten the lessons of 150
years ago. What is even worse is that we are primed right now for an
even larger conflagration with in our country. We have allowed our
nation to be broken down not by state, region, or even political
affiliation. We have allowed ourselves to be herded into special
interest groups, be they political, social, economic, or etc.
We
don't even know the neighbors in our own neighborhoods any more. It
has taken my family several years to begin to crack the self imposed
isolation that many of our neighbors have developed. Some still
refuse to acknowledge that we exist. It is amazing that we have
allowed it to become such and the speed of which it happened. It
speaks unwritten volumes to one of the failures of our modern
society.
So
this is the reason why I posit that when the next civil war begins,
the killing and the slaughter will be so much worse than before. We
have zero connections with our neighbors. No shared sense of mutual
self interest. We have created our own islands of isolation and have
nobody to blame but ourselves.
Just
consider what happened in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia in the
1990s for two brief more modern examples. Also study the Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939. Then ask yourself, could that happen here as
well?
"We don't even know the neighbors in our own neighborhoods any more. It has taken my family several years to begin to crack the self imposed isolation that many of our neighbors have developed. Some still refuse to acknowledge that we exist. It is amazing that we have allowed it to become such and the speed of which it happened. It speaks unwritten volumes to one of the failures of our modern society."
ReplyDeleteHow true this is! My spouse and I even participated in the isolation for awhile, it is a terrible thing. Thankfully, the last few years have changed that, but I still see this isolation on my street and in the entire subdivision. A somber observation. It would make sense why the death toll could be much higher. There aren't mutually beneficial communities anymore. Like you wrote, "no shared sense of mutual self interest". Friendliness and basic neighborly acts are looked upon with suspicion. Subdivisions are not designed for neighborly interaction or community. Everyone does their own thing with interaction that goes no further than the weather.
This post does make me thankful for the connections I have made to the neighbors close by and hopeful to keep remaining friendly and open in hopes that others will come out of their shells too.
This has become even more interesting since we have had brand new neighbors just move in next door. Just in the first meetings we have found several shared interests and concerns, yet, there still is that hesitancy that exists. Fortunately, their children and our children seem to get along very well.
ReplyDeleteMy wife and I have always made it important to greet any new neighbors moving in. Sometimes this has backfired. Sometimes we have made life long friends. It is all based on the belief that every relationship is started from an act of kindness and giving.
Again, thanks for the comments and thoughts. I appreciate the dialog.