The wife and I have been exploring Ring Forts in Cork, and I’m of the conclusion that we as a people must spend a majority of our time on this planet being afraid. When I look at the effort that primitive (100BC – 500AD) man and women have spent building ring defenses and fortifications against their neighbors or some other invader. It’s staggering how powerful fear is. Mind you I have often wondered how violent the past times these forts were built in, what terror forced them to expend so much time and energy on their construction. <\/p>\n
And I wonder how much was real and how much was the effort by some leadership to condense power and control. What was the frequency of Viking attacks, or land grabbing by neighbors, or worse yet livestock rustling (and you thought this was a cowboy story) <\/p>\n
How do you build a defense that will make people feel safe? What does it take to make safety tangible. It was quite apparent that these ring forts were evidence. The efforts of the entire community were applied to their construction, and maintenance. <\/p>\n
What makes a community feel safe in the Nuclear age? What tangible artifact can you construct that will make you feel safe? Not much is seems, much of the control for the defense is outside of the control of the community that fears it most. In hands that seem unable to place restraints on their threat and their use AS a threat. In trust that people have for their leadership that such weapons will neither strike them, or cause others to strike at them with such weapons. So while ancient man built forts, forts were made obsolete by better weapons, but made unnecessary as trade made social interactions between people more profitable than war.<\/p>\n
But now we have oil, and while we have been trading in oil for ages, we have come to an impasse of a diminishing resource. Much like the cattle thief’s we try and steal what is not ours. We wage war on issues that on the surface make sense, but only mask what we have failed to learn from our past. That our ring forts no longer act as a deterrent to theft. That there is no defense, except social interactions, of cooperation, of diplomacy, of fair trade. Because as sure as one side strikes a blow, there will be a counter-strike. And all reason goes out the window, pandora’s box is open and the only hope is reason. <\/p>\n
(originally posted May 2, 2006)<\/p>\n
UPDATE: it seems like there is no difference between the past and the present, ring forts still have their purposes Iraqis Plan to Ring Baghdad With Trenches<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The wife and I have been exploring Ring Forts in Cork, and I’m of the conclusion that we as a people must spend a majority of our time on this planet being afraid. When I look at the effort that…<\/span><\/p>\n