• Latest

Guest Opinion: Tribal Wars

November 5, 2018
Enough Ministries Youth Volunteer

Enough Ministries Youth Volunteer

July 5, 2022

Kinney Drugs Opens COVID-19 Vaccination Appointments for Ages 3-4

July 5, 2022
Fish with a Warden Sessions Offered

Fish with a Warden Sessions Offered

July 5, 2022
Montpelier Aims to Bring Clothespins Back to Their Historic Home

Montpelier Aims to Bring Clothespins Back to Their Historic Home

July 5, 2022
African Queen (1951)

Psycho (1960)

July 5, 2022
East Montpelier Student Lands Opportunity at Tech Company

East Montpelier Student Lands Opportunity at Tech Company

June 28, 2022

U.S. Supreme Court Reversal of Roe vs. Wade is a Devastating Blow to Reproductive Rights

June 28, 2022
Just Some Thoughts

I Hate Painting!

June 28, 2022
African Queen (1951)

The Conversation (1974)

June 28, 2022

Central Vermont Council on Aging (CVCOA) Offers Special Memorable Times Online and Ageless Grace/Memory Café Reunion in July 

June 28, 2022

Upper Valley Everyone Eats Returns to Gifford in June

June 21, 2022

Vermont’s COVID-19 State-Run Testing Sites to Close June 25

June 21, 2022
  • Home
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy
  • Sitemap
Wednesday, July 6, 2022
The World Online
Advertisement
  • Home
  • News & Features
    • Local News
    • Letters & opinions
    • George Shuman
    • Max’s View
    • Local Sports & Outdoors
    • Births
    • Weddings & Engagements
  • Calendar
    • Art Exhibits
    • Calendar of Events
    • Ongoing Events
  • Obituaries
  • Submit
    • Submit Calendar Listing for Non-Profit Events
    • Submit An Article To The World
    • Submit Letter To The Editor
    • Submit Sports News/Photo
    • Submit Birth Announcement
    • Submit Engagement Announcement
    • Submit Wedding Announcement
  • Advertising
    • World Rates and Ad Sizes
    • World Distribution Map
    • World Deadlines
    • Audit and Reader Surveys
    • Advertising Inquiry
  • Classifieds
    • Place Classified Ads
    • View Current Classifieds
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News & Features
    • Local News
    • Letters & opinions
    • George Shuman
    • Max’s View
    • Local Sports & Outdoors
    • Births
    • Weddings & Engagements
  • Calendar
    • Art Exhibits
    • Calendar of Events
    • Ongoing Events
  • Obituaries
  • Submit
    • Submit Calendar Listing for Non-Profit Events
    • Submit An Article To The World
    • Submit Letter To The Editor
    • Submit Sports News/Photo
    • Submit Birth Announcement
    • Submit Engagement Announcement
    • Submit Wedding Announcement
  • Advertising
    • World Rates and Ad Sizes
    • World Distribution Map
    • World Deadlines
    • Audit and Reader Surveys
    • Advertising Inquiry
  • Classifieds
    • Place Classified Ads
    • View Current Classifieds
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
The World Online
No Result
View All Result

Guest Opinion: Tribal Wars

vt-world by vt-world
November 5, 2018
in Letters & opinions
0

By Joe Benning, State Senator, Caledonia District

In the late 1960’s our country was torn apart. Protesters marching for basic civil rights met brutal resistance from police. Rioters looted and burned inner city businesses. Young people speaking out for change rebelled against traditions that comforted their elders. The White House called for law and order while students were gunned down by National Guard troops at Kent State. Good leaders were assassinated and cult followers murdered Hollywood elite. Crowds ran from tear gas canisters here in America while American soldiers piled up in body bags in Vietnam. All this mayhem was a daily feature on a still-relatively-new social medium called “television” that brought it directly into our homes. They were turbulent times.

My father and I lived through those times as polar opposites. Close-cropped hair slicked back, creased black dress pants and white shirt were his standard wear as he settled into his recliner after a day of work. He was committed to his government “right or wrong.” He believed his settled, familiar way of life was under attack by crazed out hippies on drugs. Shoulder length hair, parted in the middle, I’d hunker down in my bedroom in bell bottomed pants and tie-dyed shirt, blaring my stereo system and guitar over the shouts of “Turn it down!” from other family members. I constantly questioned accepted norms, always seeking to press the envelope to bring about change. Each of us considered the other’s camp as a crowd of ignorant idiots as we partitioned ourselves into our respective tribes.

If all this sounds vaguely familiar, well, it should. Our country is once again divided into tribes that have no tolerance for each other. A new social medium, the internet, competes with television to bring hate, bigotry, distrust and fear to the fore. Far too many seek comfort within the tribe that thinks like they do. A misguided few use whipped up rhetoric to justify violence.

And it’s not just at the national level. Here in Vermont we have also divided ourselves into intolerant tribes as the political campaign season reaches fever pitch. It does not matter who started it, or who does it worse than whom, or what party you believe will preserve Vermont or put it in the wastebasket. We’ve walled ourselves into tribes that have forgotten how to conduct civil discourse.

But there is hope. History shows we have it in our power to provide ourselves relief. In July of 1969, at the height of what we then all thought was surely the end of time, a spaceship approached the moon with some very brave Americans aboard. My father and I set aside our differences to sit together with the family, glued for days to a fuzzy black and white image that united us as Americans like nothing else ever had. From launch pad to splashdown, we found a common reason for civility.

We who were alive at that time need to assure those lamenting current events that America will survive these times and likely come out stronger when we find a common objective. Despite any faults it may have, America remains a beacon of hope for the rest of the world. We Vermonters are uniquely positioned to demonstrate that civility is still a noble concept. Those with different opinions, religions or skin color are not the devil incarnate, they are our neighbors. Let’s move beyond these tribal wars and remember with pride that we are still the only country that put a man on the moon.

Previous Post

Guest Opinion: State Treasurer Urges Federal EPA and Highway Safety Administrators to Reconsider Rollback of Vehicle Emission Standards

Next Post

“Light out of the Darkness”

Next Post

“Light out of the Darkness”

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This Week’s Ads

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy
  • Sitemap
The World
403 US Route 302
Barre, VT 05641
Phone: (802) 479-2582

Copyright © 2019 The World Online. All Rights Reserved. Powered by CoolerAds.

No Result
View All Result
  • Art Exhibits
  • Audit and Reader Surveys
  • Births
  • Calendar
  • Contact Us
  • Daily Horoscope
  • Food & Recipe
  • Home
  • Obituaries
  • Ongoing Events
  • Pay Your Bill Here
  • Senior Living Edition
  • Showtimes
  • Submit Birth Announcement
  • Submit Calendar Listing for Non-Profit Events
  • Submit Engagement Announcement
  • Submit Listing to our Local Directory
  • Submit Sports News/Photo
  • Submit Wedding Announcement
  • Summer Guide
  • Testimonials
  • The World Coupons
  • Weather Forecast
  • World Deadlines
  • World Distribution Map
  • World Rate Card
  • World Rates and Ad Sizes
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy
  • Sitemap
  • About Us
  • Vermont Lottery
  • Advertising Information
  • The World Staff
  • Advertising Inquiry
  • Submit Letter To The Editor
  • Local Directory
  • Poll Results
  • Local Deals
  • Classifieds
  • Submit An Article To The World
  • Events
  • The World – This Week’s Online Digital Edition
  • The World Auto & Sports

Copyright © 2019 The World Online. All Rights Reserved. Powered by CoolerAds.

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In