re: Civil Society
[Frederica Mathewes-Green  03/28 05:35 PM]

I remember thinking through some of these issues when we were looking toward a Y2K breakdown (yes, I was one of the nervous nellies then). The conclusion I came to was, if you're talking about the kind of societal breakdown where we are in physical danger (for example, from starving and rioting folks a few neighborhoods away), then there is no place you can go where you can be sure of safety. Instead of the desperate folks finding your hideout in weeks, they would find you in years.

There was a quote you had back then, Rod, something like "Totalizing a disaster has the effect of annihilating the disaster." I don't remember who said it. But it meant that if you believe that ultimately no amount of preparation will be effective, then it's pointless to prepare. So, unlike friends who dug wells and converted their savings to gold, we just bought bottled water and canned food and prepared spiritually for whatever awaited. We were never so happy to face an anticlimax in our lives.

But isn't it worth noting that, in such a case, you're talking about a different kind of societal disruption? We'd been deploring the general spread of incivility, crudity, aggressive pornification, and so forth. I'd say, sadly, that while that makes for a miserable society, it does not directly cause things to grind to a halt. We can "withdraw in disgust," cultivate an alternative life, and as writers make loving forays to bring health and hope to our neighbors — while still relying on the same systems they do for police, clean water, groceries, and so forth.

A natural or man-made disaster is independent of cultural disease, and might occur even if we were eminently virtuous. The problems it poses are also quite different. A well-placed disaster could disrupt access to the things we require to stay alive, like water and medication. Similarly disrupted neighbors might become violent. I don't have any recommendation about how to navigate such a disaster except by prayerful following of those who gracefully preceded us.

Just wanted to point out that it's two different kinds of "Civil Society" collapse. We can withdraw from the former, but it won't be a complete withdrawal. The latter, there's not much you *can* do.