Apples, oranges, and enlightenment

When the witch’s brew includes humans of different cultures, humans of the same culture but different parts, and humans who just want to get along, the brew’s outcome can be surprising. Making apples into oranges can be hard work, with often disappointing results on all sides. Maybe the objective for now should be getting apples and oranges to coexist in the sellers market without contaminating each other.

And this is just about the American Civil War, the War Between the States, the War of the Rebellion, the War of Northern Aggression. To say the debate about facts and history and honoring our ancestors is alive and well is an understatement even after 140 years. While not from Georgia, I’ve lived there and the friction over the state flag alone got a very good governor replaced through election. Apples and oranges and civility had a distinct local tone, and it was all civil and honest as he lost his job.

Apply these ideas of apples and oranges to the clash of cultures, the west meets east, the internal muslim frictions, the tribal loyalties, the nation state problems, and maybe we in the USA have some similar human experience, albeit USA style. The civil war is close enough in time to have ancestral relative’s values applied to we Americans today.

Whether we should apply our personal historical experience to the world of today is a moot point. Of course we will and do. For those not affected, or don’t care, of course the same applies. Even the USA civil war has this standard applied, thank goodness to today’s world.

Whatever version of the civil war history and especially local history one knows and respects, those who have done all this have a good advantage in trying to sort out what is best for our nation today. Consider the aftermath of the civil war as a good place for lessons learned, and then apply them today in the world. Many do. Most should since we do have experience. Some call it values, and a willingness to assert them.

Maybe our political leaders will even listen.