The Fire

There was a huge prairie fire by my house yesterday. It’s the second of its kind that has happened this year, and rarely does our summer conclude without one. On each such occasion, my initial reaction is to weigh the loss my family might suffer should our home burn down, and for the most part I’m at peace with this potential material impact, though I’d never invite it. Once I’m reminded of that, the next phase of each big fire experience leaves me feeling anxious, like I should be doing something to help put it out. But because of the specialization of knowledge and authority that occurs in our culture, I and the vast majority of other able-bodied men are rendered impotent to assist. We’re told to stay back, let the professionals do their job. I see this as a problem, and it compels me to contemplate why we aren’t training our young adults, all of them, to respond collectively and cooperatively to these kinds of regular dangers, or even how to successfully acquire food and water, or maintain the material stuff we rely on, or conduct emergency medical procedures. It’s like we’re purposely keeping our public ignorant, and it bothers me. Worse still, where I live, there’s another level of this culturally-induced ignorance invested in a long-held racial divide. This too surfaces with the fire, which crossed our fictive boundaries, and rekindled an entirely different kind of flame. Over the last twenty-four hours, I’ve written a couple statements about my thoughts on these matters, and posted them to my Facebook page. I figured I’d share a video recording with all of those involved in FMK, in which I read and elaborate on these statements… again, as part of sharing experience