A whole generation or two have been born and grown up not knowing what our country and our world used to be like. Some of this is a very good thing, but there are other aspects that are not so good. We need to remember at times what certain things were like. For instance, most of the younger generation have never known “want”, being without something with no chance of getting it or replacing it. Most of the time this is fine, but on the other hand we tend to lose a perspective in our daily lives that is sometimes blurred or surreal. This might be somewhat like thinking that money is a permanent part of our lives or that food is always obtainable and that water is always fresh and plentiful. An expanded perspective can give us a realistic knowledge as to where and why and how these things come to us. This could be a very healthy addition to our collective maturity.
I think that a simulation of want has happened to us in this most affluent of countries during the month of March and possibly continuing through the month of April. This can be a learning experience for all of us as to what things “usta” be like in the olden days: the 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s. The people who lived through those years had things, but not everything that is available to us now. Toilet paper is now in our consciousness as a luxury item. We no longer take it for granted. As are the toilets themselves. I remember when outhouses were ubiquitous and there was never any toilet paper in them. The most pervasive item to use was a Sears Roebuck catalog. With glossy paper. Think about this. And the most characteristic memory about this whole process, as with a lot of other situations was the smell. We don’t think about unpleasant smells as being a part of our lives anymore. But we are no longer an agricultural society. We are the city folks. Far removed from the barnyard and the pasture.
In an agricultural society food takes on a whole new characteristic. Now we have the supermarket. And in some places the farmer’s market. But both are sanitized and healthy. Everything looks good and the smells are innocuous. In the olden days of our ancestors even as recent as the 40s and 50s this was not the case in many places. Many people had gardens with fresh vegetables and fruits and trees and flowers. Beehives for honey. Large pens for chickens and ducks and turkeys and guinea hens and pigeons, and hens who laid eggs regularly and lived a comfortable life until they were selected for dinner. Then someone had to end a certain comfortable life, remove the feathers, clean and prepare the carcass and then, only then cook the meat for dinner. Youngsters then learned early not to think of these animals as pets. Also in this area were the hunters who would bring home squirrels, rabbits, pheasants, etc., and then expect them to be prepared for dinner. Always a messy process. Even if it was a catfish or trout or a bluegill.
During this month of April when we are to be sequestered for thirty days, it might be a good time to reflect on the above. This could be a wake-up call as to what could happen in a real crisis: an earthquake, tsunami, tornado, asteroid crash, etc. Can we actually be prepared for any eventuality? How? What would happen when a situation occurs that means that we really can’t get food, water, medical supplie or even…toilet paper? How we could have prepared would be meaningless at that time.
At that point in time we are no longer “entitled.” The entitled category gets immediately buried in reality. Can thinking about this eventuality help our young , our millennials, and those people with totally unrealistic outlooks face reality? Would they be ready and even able to handle the intellectual shift necessary to survive? In a crisis individuals must act in order to survive. No one can rely on someone being available to do things at their beck and call.
The good old days meant that life was based on reality. Pay to play. Participate or leave. Think before you act. And “Be Prepared.” Scouts understand this and so should we. Let us use this month to prepare ourselves mentally and physically and spiritually for whatever eventuality comes at us. And let us unite as the great nation that we “usta be” and still are. Let us all sing “God bless America” with a gusto that comes from deep down in our hearts…!