When the Center Does Not Hold

There once was a farmer who felt unfairly treated by the manager of the irrigation district he belonged to; that he hadn’t been given his due.

The man became angry to the point of distraction over the perceived unfairness. One day, he found the manager of the irrigation district, grabbed him by the jacket, and shaking him said, “Tom, as long as you are in charge of the irrigation district, I’m not taking another drop out of that canal.”

The farmer was true to his word. In just one season, his crops dried up, and he was forced to declare bankruptcy. In his willful stubbornness, he lost everything.

Tom may or may not have done anything wrong, but the farmer had no one to blame but himself for the results of his own actions. Blaming the frailties or failings of others on our own failings and shortcomings is as foolish as me blaming the ground that my front porch is sinking or that entire box of donuts I ate for my not feeling well.

All societies are guided by a compass made of shared morals and values. This doesn’t mean there is a lack of individuality in both morals and values. In fact, those shared values in a society often form from a kind of melting pot of individualism.

Some changes to that compass are good. Some, not so much. Those in the “not so much” category often come from the vocal minority enabled by the apathy-motivated inaction of the masses. If things are going well in your own life, it’s all too easy to ignore what’s going on outside even when those events have the potential to shape the future for good or ill.

William Butler Yeates, in somber verse, wrote:

“Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the center cannot hold.
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, 
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.”

We all play the role of falconer. The falcon represents a lot of things. Given the context, it seems the falcon represents the morals and values mentioned above.

In each of us, there are certain tightly held ideals that should, like the falcon, be let go of, and we shouldn’t seek their return. Hatred, racism, sexism, and a host of other -isms are falcons that need to take flight and not return.

For any society to thrive, however, there must be a balance between individualism and conformity. Certain ideals must always be held fast. No society, however “enlightened” or “sophisticated” can stand on the phantom moorings created out of wholesale permissiveness. To find balance, a line of acceptability must be drawn.

It’s no easy task, however, to know where the line should be drawn. In the past, lines have been drawn that have resulted in so-called lawful persecution — where little if anything was done to establish, preserve, or protect the “inalienable” rights of all humans.

Extreme individualism born from wholesale permissiveness first tears at the fringes of society then begins to break down the very fabric that holds societies together.

Earlier, I stated that societal directional changes are spurred into being by the vocal minority because “the masses” are apathetic. Overwhelm, in the face of figuring out what to do, may look like apathy. Most people abhor confrontation, so it’s hard for them to stand up for their values when certain people care little, if any, about who they have to trample in order to force their ideals on others.

While knowing where to draw the lines is difficult, there is a right and wrong way to go about it.

From about 1954 to about 1968, the Civil Rights movement in the United States was spurred by the actions of a relatively small group of people done in largely the right way. The majority of those pursuing civil rights for all, generally did so without resorting to violence or tearing others down in an effort to build themselves up. Their message was one of an end to persecution and the establishment of true equality.

It seems the movement did many things right, yet there were those then and there are those now who attempt to “crush” what that movement was and is.

Political behaviors today are not too far removed from the feudalistic behaviors of centuries ago. Rather than debate issues and come to an agreement as to the best path forward for society, elected officials attempt to lord power over one another and win the argument by slinging enough mud to silence their opponents.

Societal issues are hard to resolve. For any society to thrive, individual freedoms that don’t infringe on the freedoms of others must be protected. All people deserve to be heard, but there does come a point when fighting against what is truly good for society needs to be a purely academic pursuit.