The bells:
There is a Christmas Carol with words by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. He was very well thought of, and I think well of him still. His poem “The Song of Hiawatha,” painted the pre-contact Native Americans with such stunningly glorious colors that it was surprising to me to learn that there was prejudice against Indians. There was none in Florida in my youth. The Seminoles were highly regarded. And when an acquaintance of mine in Boston made unkind remarks I wish I had asked him whether he had read Longfellow.
In the carol are the lines, “In despair I bowed my head, ‘There is no peace on earth,’ I said, “For hate is strong and mocks the song…” He was a good hearted man, say I. Alas, since his time the rate at which wars have broken out has risen steadily. And wars more and more are directed not at military units but against civilians. Wars are more hate stained than ever.
The divide between the major American political parties has gone from bad to worse. Religious fervor spawns violence at a rate that to my mind is unprecedented.
There is a word “populist,” which is a pejorative political term meaning respecting the wishes of ordinary people. Pretty much it is used to mean resisting immigration, which is as detested by us-all as much as it is pushed by our overlords. It is strong everywhere and is very much on the rise in Europe (Turning Right ECONOMIST vol. 410 no. 8868 January 4, 2014 page 16). It is on the rise particularly among the young.
Well of course. Those who are warmly disposed toward outsiders tend to marry them and have fewer children and grandchildren. Those who are cool toward outsiders have the opposite tendency. It didn’t have to be that way. If everyone understood just that much then it would be a level demographic playing field. Tolerance and good will should win out; after all they survive even on the uneven field they have always faced. But this has not happened yet. It looks like the world is proceeding lock step toward the historic disaster I am trying to prevent. Feel free to wish me well.
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