"Ever at Variance and Foolishly Jealous"
By p1kef1sh
@p1kef1sh (45681)
October 15, 2011 3:31pm CST
These were the words of a colonist in America in 1766 (Joseph Warren to be specific). His comment was about the fact that the various colonies in America all regarded themselves as mini countries that were rather aloof and superior from each other. As I look around the World today I am struck that his phrase is still as valid today in respect of nations rather than states. Could we have learned nothing in the past 245 years.
1 person likes this
8 responses
@RawBill1 (8531)
• Gold Coast, Australia
16 Oct 11
Judging by the state of the world today with wars over stupid things, people eating stuff that really should not be classed as food, environmental damage escalating and many people living meaningless existences, that we have not really progressed as humans over the last few hundred years.
In fact, I think that with our current lifestyles being much less community based, we have unlearned many things over generations that were integral to the success of our species. 
We are doomed! The end is near! 
We are doomed! The end is near! @RawBill1 (8531)
• Gold Coast, Australia
17 Oct 11
I don't know if you know much about Permaculture, but there is a pretty good movement happening here in Australia with it. People are getting together within the Permaculture framework and building community projects such as food gardens all over the place. This sense of doing the right thing for the planet as well as humanity is really starting to bring people together. It just needs to gain more momentum and be picked up by the mainstream society. The barrier though is that there is no real way for the corporate world to make $4!7loads of money out of it!
@grandpa_lash (5225)
• Australia
16 Oct 11
I'm sorry, did you mean 10,000 years? I am one with little if any xenopohobia, and not much in the way of collective territoriality, so it comes as a continuing surprise, nay, bewilderment to me that human societies do this, but clearly it happens universally at all levels of society. The constant and widening gap between my idealism and reality is almost as frustrating as the (thankfully lessening) gap between my ethics and my behaviour.
It was Trevanian, from memory, who described Italy (and I paraphrase, perhaps inaccurately) as not a nation but a collection of territorial monkey tribes. Perhaps that could be applied universally?
Lash
@stephcjh (38473)
• United States
16 Oct 11
Thanks for sharing this with us. I don't think I have ever heard of it before.
@hardworkinggurl (37062)
• United States
16 Oct 11
It is now a bit more lucrative but no changes in that respect. 
I think people today call it more like competing, 
whatever that means.
I think people today call it more like competing, whatever that means.
no, obviously it is a human trait to want to stay with "your own kind" whatEVER that means! @grandpa_lash (5225)
• Australia
16 Oct 11
I'm sorry, did you mean 10,000 years? I am one with little if any xenopohobia, and not much in the way of collective territoriality, so it comes as a continuing surprise, nay, bewilderment to me that human societies do this, but clearly it happens universally at all levels of society. The constant and widening gap between my idealism and reality is almost as frustrating as the (thankfully lessening) gap between my ethics and my behaviour.
It was Trevanian, from memory, who described Italy (and I paraphrase, perhaps inaccurately) as not a nation but a collection of territorial monkey tribes. Perhaps that could be applied universally?
Lash
