Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”
Eons of human existence resulted in social contracts that allowed individuals to live in relative harmony in society. These social contracts allowed people to communicate and interact with confidence, knowing that the definition of words and social constructs were held in common. We’ve referred to that state of affairs as Western Civilization. We became civilized by the mutual understandings that allow us to live together in relative peace.
If human history was represented as a 24 hour clock, it is only in the last fraction of a second that postmodern deconstruction has laid waste to the social contracts that took eons to bind. Religion and philosophy have been the vehicles that gave meaning to life. Science was welcomed into that circle but has been a double edged sword. It has been useful in answering the questions of what, when, and where. The questions of who and why are still left to religion and philosophy.
Now it seems that every social contract is being brought into question. This has brought about a complete breakdown in trust. We can no longer communicate with confidence. This is forcing us to separate, to segregate, to silo with others with whom we can confidently socialize. Interaction is becoming increasingly difficult, because the unspoken “rules” of engagement are no longer clear. Is authority powerless? Is solid porous? Is uniformity weakness? Is diversity strength? Is black white? Is conservation waste? Is law liberty? Is truth deceit? Is violence peace? Is male female? Is death life? Is good evil?
This discourse is, by nature, conservative because it implies that order is better than chaos. It relies on thoughtfulness over emotion. It values social contracts over anarchy. But this is the crossroads we approach. Do we devolve into disorder, or can we pull back from the edge and form new social contracts that keep us civil? Time will tell.
“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.”
