The Quiet Revolution

I live in a sleepy and quiet little town. The streets are lined with sidewalks and lamps. People still go for walks at night in the summer.

 

Once in awhile, you get the occasional uproar. Like when there was a vote on whether our county should have alcohol sales. The town became polarized for a time. The “no” voters were protesting on the platform that it would bring evil to our community and increase the incidents of drunk driving accidents. The “yes” voters were protesting on the platform that it would save our economy and keep people from driving to another county and contributing money to a different community..which is only a few miles away..by the way.

Neither argument was completely valid. I checked the statistics. Our “dry county” rate of drunk driving arrests and accidents are actually higher than those in surrounding counties who sell alcohol. Bringing the sales to the county wouldn't increase the number of drinkers. It's only a 10 minute drive to the next county to buy alcohol for pete's sake. Yet, bringing the sale to our county isn't going to save anything. What will save us is a willingness to put money directly into our community. We also drive out of county to shop for clothes and furniture and cars..and basically anything except groceries. Grocery stores and antique shops are all we have here. And banks. We keep our money here but we do not spend it here.

Anyway, that's my point. This debate crested after the election was held. Alcohol sales were not voted in. Nothing has changed. I don't think much would have changed if the vote had gone differently.

In this sheltered back-drop, it takes news a while to travel here. People are using the internet more. It's more accepted. But, we are out of the big debates for the most part. And, many people still just watch the 6 o'clock news, shake their head about that small window to the world chaos they have seen, and go about their business.

We don't yell and scream and carry signs. There have been a few that have stood on the street corners thumping bibles and waving poster board signs. But, that method is simply overlooked by most people. It's not taken seriously.

Most people don't know about Monsanto, what's in our food, why we should be angry or what our role is in the information gathering scandals.

It's as if the world is screaming for a revolution and this area is surrounded by a sound proof bubble.

 

And, I'm not complaining. To participate in the world today is to subject yourself to information over-load. You are hit with a barrage of opinions and a mixture of the truth, fiction and extreme views on any topic imaginable.

People are burning things in the streets. Emotions are high. And, everyone has an opinion.

But here, it's more of a quiet revolution. And, I'd not noticed it really until I had tired of the unending streams of information coming in about how horrible our world is.

What I've noticed is back yard gardens. People riding bicycles. More people walking in the evenings. More farmer's markets. More people quietly accepting that others are different. We all cannot be Baptists.

It's a quiet revolution that surprisingly reflects what people are screaming about. What I'm finding is that even without the ear to the ground for the latest events, people are feeling what needs to happen without having to be told. That's pretty refreshing. And, it's a nice cue to take. Instead of worrying what is happening out there and screaming and pacing about it, this little place is just feeling it and changing and adapting as appropriate..for the most part.

We've had a very high rate of drug busts lately. And the root cause for this is something that has a deeply buried core. While the awareness of it sometimes is shocking..I had no idea my neighbor was making meth..it's drawing attention to a larger need and people are responding in various ways. Still yet, it's not because we see it played out on a larger volatile world stage. It's because it happened right next door. And, it both scares people and hurts them. So, they change. And, they pray a lot. It's not frowned upon to pray here yet.

It makes me wonder..why can't we just hush for a minute and listen to what is being said to us without words. Why can't we just have a quiet revolution where you just feel what is wrong and decide to do something different. I guess since it is a “world” thing and in such a vast number of people you will find different motivators for each of them. Some people need to see and participate in protests? Feel like they are being heard? I guess.