I am not a historian but lately I have become captivated with the Civil War, a war fought on American soil, American against American. It seems as we grow in years from the actual event, the number of deaths from this war also grows. The latest is that the number of deaths could be in the range of 650,000 - 850,000! Imagine, this (un)civil conflict on our own shores, a war that lasted 4 years, 3 weeks and 6 days. See Civil War Toll
My ancestors I guess could be seen by some as traitors. They come from the south, Arkansas, and it was rumored in the family that they choose the slow wagon train route west to California to escape having to be involved in this civil dispute.
I don't know... maybe they just didn't believe in killing their brothers. They were after all farmers not fighters. It would be later, another generation, that would venture off with gun in hand to fight a war on a foreign soil.
I believe in evolution.... but so many times on so many days I doubt how far we have evolved. We still take a version of a 'stick' in our hand and turn it on our brother until he is beaten into submission. Why has our brain...our mind.... failed to evolve in all these years? Why do we not possess the ability to solve our problems in a civil way?
I sometimes look down from my stellar-perch, out there far in space, and see an Earth inhabited still by neanderthals. Still reaching for their clubs, still wanting to beat their oppoents into bloddy submission...
Seems to me, I remember those wagons. Why, I do believe they're going to appear in a new book by Artichoke Annie. The world is holding its breath.
ReplyDeleteAs to the rest of your post, unfortunately I think you've got humanity pegged. It's amazing we've progressed this far, given our unruly nature. Dog only knows what's coming down the pike.