Into the Distance

Some mornings as I sit at my desk pondering various possibilities for my daily post, I find myself staring into the distance.  My mind roams across different subjects that seem relevant for the day.  I try to stay away from purely political or controversial themes although I frequently skirt the edges enough to allow for various interpretations.

I often bring up the idea of cyclicity.  It is a part of nature.  Some cycles are short and others are so long that we often don't realize they are cycles.

There are political cycles as well.  We have seen them throughout the history of this country and throughout the modern history of the world.  World War II saw the ultimate clash between competing political philosophies -- Marxism, Fascism, Capitalism, Social Democracy and Oligarchy.  What exploded in Europe was also going on in the United States but the balance between the competing philosophies was different.  The result was that the competing belief systems became entrenched in separate countries -- Marxism in Russia, Capitalism in the U.S., Social Democracy in Europe and various Fascist Dictators in small countries scattered throughout the world.

Those different political philosophies continue to compete to this day.  Each has spread into the domain of the others.  Each struggle for dominance.  At some point we may see an explosion similar to what engulfed Europe beginning in WWI and concluding in a state of equilibrium at the end of WWII.

The borders created at that time were sometimes arbitrarily drawn by the most powerful without regard to the feelings of those contained within.  Those borders have continued to be areas of conflict -- Middle East, Africa and Eastern Europe.

Many people use a plant commonly called Monkey Grass (Liriope muscari) to create artificial borders in their lawns.  They are constantly having to pull grass and other invasive species from those plantings.  Below is a small sampling of Monkey Grass that remains on our place -- planted originally by a previous occupant.  It will likely get to stay.