Goose Speaks - Stolen Humanity, Sunday Dec.1, 2024

An epidemic crying for a solution

Goose and I were discussing what has become an epidemic among humans, the loss of humanity. Losing the ability to have compassion and love for others is a serious problem.

Goose, “It is almost as if humans are trying to imitate cats. We are taught to be independent and take care of ourselves. However, if we are lucky enough to find the right humans, we trade independence for regular food, water, shelter, and companionship. While we often appear not to care about our human, that is far from the truth. We would not be sleeping on your bed if we did not care for you. Yet it is not hard to see examples of humans who do not understand that their indepence is often an illusion. A young adult living at home often shows signs of passive aggressiveness because they don’t appreciate all that goes into providing food, shelter, and warmth.”

Goose do you have any theories how they get this way?

Goose, “My suspicion is that in some relationship they gave a lot of themselves and cared for someone who not only did not respond but likely hurt them deeply. If we try to care and don’t get a positive response, we are less likely to try again. At some point these people build walls around themselves.”

Well that sounds like a plausible theory but I wonder if there are other factors. Maybe these people were never involved when young in organizations that built a spirit of community?

Goose,”That’s probably true, but there is a huge cultural problem that dwarfs that. Society places billionaires who pay no taxes at the top of the pyramid. The person who will win at any cost and ignore friends reinforces the idea that caring about people is for losers. That Google search we did about the concept of community in Scandinavia about sums it up.”

The idea of community is deeply rooted in a strong sense of shared responsibility, prioritizing the collective well-being over individual gain, fostering a close-knit network where people feel a strong sense of belonging and trust, often supported by a robust welfare state that promotes equality and social cohesion across different levels of society.

Goose, I see what you are saying. What is best for me is the mantra of many. Many communities are ripped apart by trivial HOA arguments before they can even think about our government. Goose, I know that I have never told you the story of our cattle dispersal. It is an impressive demonstration of community.

Wealways tried to be good neighbors. When we lived on the farm, mostly we were surrounded by people who believed in lending a helping hand whenever possible.

During the Canadian winters, since I had the biggest tractors, it seemed like I was always pulling someone out of a snowbank or clearing a driveway with my tractor mounted snowblower. We didn't have a lot of spare money, but I don't think that I ever turned down a request for help or took payment for helping someone. We did things together as a community. When someone died, we dug their grave even when we had build fires in the grave to keep the ground from freezing before we could dig it. After a funeral was over, the ladies stayed in the church, the men went to our trucks put on our overalls, got our shovels and filled in the grave. No one was asked to take part but everyone did because that was how the community worked togehter.

When we decided to disperse our cattle herd in 1982, it was a huge undertaking and took the better part of a year to prepare for the dispersal sale. A lot of the work was in converting one of our barns into an auction ring with seats for bidders. It meant cleaning out the barn and moving tons of manure. Selling over two hundred head of cattle in a few hours requires the right kind of facility.

Our sale was scheduled in October and the weather turned terrible in late August. There was non-stop rain and the temperatures were often in the forties. It looked like the three people I had hired were not going to be enough to get the job done. We did not have more money to hire additional people. We had to take every load of manure out in a wheel barrow instead with a tractor mounted front end loader

Monday morning two weeks before our sale date, most of the men from the community showed up unannounced on our doorstep willing to work with no pay until our barn was ready. One neighbor even took vacation to help. I couldn’t believe it. They worked shoulder to shoulder with the people I was paying but they refused all pay. It was an effort to get them to take a plate of hot food at lunch. They would work until they had to go do their chores. When they finished their chores they would be back. They did not stop until everything was done. No one would tell me who organized it.

They all showed up for the sale. Friends whose sales I had supported over the years also showed. The rancher from South Dakota that I hired to talk up the cattle saw the great outpouring of community support wouldn’t even take the money I had promised for his trip. Our sale went on to be a great success. I have never forgotten the people who worked in such miserable, cold, rainy conditions to help us take the next step in our lives. It has been over forty years, but I would still help one of them as much as I could if asked.

Goose,”Wow, now that is the community that we are missing today. The people in your community obviously cared about each other. It would be nice it we could find away to get that spirit of community and humanity back.”