My brother Jim is good at sending me conundrums to ponder. He told me (about 3 or 4 years ago) about a former Wall Street executive who decided to give it all up and travel America, documenting what he found. His name is Chris Arnade, and he has a new book, “Dignity”, that is a collection of his efforts. He draws conclusions he didn’t expect to make – but the evidence was too overwhelming for him to ignore. One of the most powerful aspects (to me) was watching his atheism slowly erode and become more “complicated” (as he says) when he learned how the forgotten outcasts lean very heavily on their faith. He divides our society into two camps — the front row kids and the back row kids. Here is a great article about it.
https://www.plough.com/en/topics/justice/social-justice/economic-justice/the-mcdonalds-test
I appreciate Chris’ effort and I think he is correct on most of his conclusions. But he fails to recognize something fundamentally important: by his division of front row/back row, he is adding fuel to the very fire he is fighting. What he is describing is the destruction of Western Civilization. I would posit there is no dividing line between front row/back row. The front row kids often have the knowledge back row kids need. The back row kids often have the wisdom the front row kids need. When the wisdom and knowledge fail to flow back and forth, progress halts. People who draw lines and pick sides are destructive, not constructive. The United States is one of very few human civilization experiments where diversity is strength, not weakness… From the Scottish clans to the Italian families, to a certain race one belongs to, being a part of something that one has commonalities with has defined Western Civilization. Add to that the following: we have (99% of us) completely lost ties with the land. It is one of the largest hurdles. Food comes from the land – farms and wild Mother Nature, not a grocery store. Imagine there were no McDonalds? Chris would have to stop at individual farms. Bet he would see a different story then.
America was an oxymoron from the beginning. Free enterprise and universal human freedom and equality are competing ideas – diametrically opposed to each other. We value higher education and free enterprise, yet dont understand why some cultures dont. Then we have used those same people to build what we have – and cant understand why they are unhappy. “Owning” land was a completely foreign idea to Native Americans, and allowed the white man privilege to take it from the tribes. Africans were brought to America to build the wealth for the white man. Both groups were treated as inferior, and taking advantage of them was the seed of our modern greedy society. Ancient Greece had it right – equality and a (mostly) even distribution of wealth. We have the cart in front of AND beside the horse.
Unless one believes we are all born with the exact same amount of talent and intelligence, free enterprise and universal freedom and equality strive to coexist. This is a long article, but it describes it better than I could even attempt.
https://isi.org/modern-age/why-we-should-study-the-history-of-western-civilization-2/
My bottom line point? The backbone and strength of the United States is the unity and strength derived from our diversity. Hate, racism, and religious persecution should have no home here – yet somehow we manage to keep it alive. Folks, what we are witnessing is the erosion of the foundation(s) of Western Society – nothing more, nothing less. Don’t believe me? Hide and watch.
I sure hope the front row kids know how to farm. When the wisdom of back row farmers disappears, something tells me we won’t be quite as picky about our food. One final thing to ponder: would Jesus be a modern capitalist? We have had it too good for too long, and the bill is due to be paid. I don’t understand why we can’t love and take care of each other, but we argue over technical terms like “illegal” and “asylum”. Folks, those “undesirables” at the border are the very ones who grow and harvest the food for your table. They are the third ethnic group we Americans have robbed of their dignity – and all so giant grocery chains and restaurants can make billions of dollars – and we can have 99 cent hamburgers at McDonalds.