Editor’s note: This commentary is by Bob Stannard, a former lobbyist, who is still an author and musician. This piece first appeared in the Bennington Banner.
“Give peace a chance” – John Lennon, 1969
“Can’t we all just get along?” – Rodney King, 1991
[T]he man in the black hood stands on the beach wielding a sharp knife and speaking with a British accent. The viewer knows what’s coming. The psychopath blathers on about how his religion is the one that must survive. To dramatically make his point, he lobs off the head of his captive. His actions are designed to create fear and disgust. He’s good at his job.
At last count there are roughly 7 billion people living on this planet. Of that group, we can probably count on one hand how many of them get along. For the most part we are a divided world. The remarkable mess in the Middle East, exacerbated by America’s thirst for oil, has shown how vile and violent man is capable of behaving towards his fellow man.
On the surface it appears as though their conflict is over whose god is better. In reality, religion is, once again, being used as a means to end, the end being power, control and wealth. We’ve been killing each other since the beginning of time for the same old, tired reasons.
The fact is that Homo sapiens are the last remaining predator on the planet. We are prey to no other creature other than ourselves. We demonstrate daily how capable and qualified we are to kill or maim each other. We’ve evolved into being our own worst enemy.
There was a time when there were many fewer of us and it was possible for those who wished to simply live in peace could do so. They would head for the hills and never see another soul. We called them hermits. They may have been the most peaceful humans to ever live. It’s nearly impossible to get away from the herd today. We’re too many.
Two factions in a town of only 62 people have shown the world that no matter how few people live together, Homo sapiens simply cannot live together peacefully without structure, laws, rules and regulations.
It appears as though the only way we can live in harmony is to live alone. Vermont seems like it would be the perfect safe haven, a bucolic state that most would prefer to avoid. The further north you go the most isolated and desolate it becomes.
One of the most isolated towns in an isolated state is Victory, population 62. That’s right: 62. One might think that if only 62 people lived in one small town that harmony would rule. Think again. According to an amazing article in Seven Days by Mark Davis, we’ve learned that 62 people divided almost equally and separated by a 20,000 acre bog have been feuding for decades. Thankfully the laws that govern us are, in all likelihood, the only thing that’s kept these folks from killing each other.
Two factions in a town of only 62 people have shown the world that no matter how few people live together, Homo sapiens simply cannot live together peacefully without structure, laws, rules and regulations. Left to our own device we will destroy each other.
The fighting factions in Victory have long since forgotten the original cause of their conflict. Today they fight for the sake of fighting. Our brothers and sisters in the Mideast, Africa, Central America are pretty much in the same place. They fight and kill one another, because it’s all they’ve ever known.
It’s possible that there may come the day when we give peace a chance and we all just get along. I wonder what it would take for 7 billion people to come to that place, that place of victory for mankind? Perhaps the first step might be to rename this small Vermont town with very few people “Defeat.”
Maybe the rest of the world could focus on the dynamics that cause 62 people to fight instead of living in harmony. Maybe if we could solve the problems of this one town we might succeed in solving the problems of the world. Good luck with that.
