Have you ever seen those drawings or
animated videos showing what would
happen to civilization if abandoned?
Much like the ancient citadels of the
Mayan and Incas - Mother Nature can
swallow up man's monuments within
a fairly short time. In America we've
physical proof that natural forces will
overtake whatever man has wrought.
Just visit Detroit. Buildings lie fallow,
slowly returning to their natural state.
All because somebody simply walked
away. Ashes to ashes. Dust to dust.
One can't help but acknowledge that
it's all our fault. In the end disregard
of routine maintenance will catch up
with you. In the throes of a divorce,
I somehow forgot to change the oil
in my brand new car. One year later,
it suddenly stopped and that... was it.
Given my engine had traveled to a
point of no return I was stuck with
a very expensive shell... and it was
all because of me. Whether we want
to embrace responsibility or not, the
art of survival requires a bit of effort.
Sans gasoline (or now a proper charge)
one's vehicle can only go so far. Sans
proper funding, ultimately we could
lose everything. And who wants that
road less traveled to crumble? If you
don't eat... you will die. It's as simple
as that. Something has to fuel life's
momentum. And with said daily dose
comes the task of keeping everything
humming. Meaning that one must take
care of themselves and most everything
around them. It's a part of life we can't
escape... even if some of us want to.
Here in Lewistown we've a plethora of
beautiful and historic structures. Said
residences and commercial buildings
were major commitments from their
start. Sadly those who followed their
initial owners opted to take advantage
of the past and defer any investment in
the future. Quality lasts only so long
and while the infrastructure of said
edifices continue to survive, what lies
on the surface is challenged at best.
Sans paint or a roof, decay takes over.
Leaving those left behind in a mess.
One can only call such acts of public
vandalism selfish. However I can't
help but add a dash of greed. Their
gain is now our collective problem.
And whether dead or alive said evil
criminals are now long gone. Take
the Passion Pit. For half a century
our home was abused, stripped, and
finally abandoned. Few can defend
frozen pipes flooding any structure.
Inevitably the cause for such a crisis
is parsimony or neglect. Either way,
somebody else cleans up their mess.
In most societies when somebody breaks
the rules they are punished. In most cities
if you don't keep up with the Joneses, you
are fined, subpoenaed, and when necessary
jailed. Yet sadly in rural Montana most
simply sit back and watch the walls of
Jericho slowly fall down. Isn't it time we
held our neighbors to exactly the same
standards that we maintain? There has
to be some baseline of civilized behavior.
Otherwise we too will slowly fade away
until some archeologist discovers buried
treasure that we purposefully forgot...