Every Fall it seems that yellow jackets find a
way to build a nest somewhere on my house. For many years they were
able to get into our eaves. So we blocked that off but this past
season they found a little place by our backdoor and started a
good-sized nest in our siding. I've never been stung and I was
petrified to use that door.
Eventually my husband started setting
out dishes of soap with Karo syrup and the yellow jackets began dying in the
hundreds. Each day he would set out a new trap and more would die.
The traps worked and the hive began to die off. I finally worked up
the courage to go out there and take a look one day. I noticed a yellow jacket on the ground, trying to pick something up. I watched as he
struggled to take flight with one of his fallen comrades.
I knew at that moment I was meant to
witness this scene. I was meant to see this creature turn on his
fellow, after working in concert to build one of natures most
beautiful machines. The hive had been starved off and now they had
turned on each other. I thought of our society and how community is
encouraged. There are more people living in urban and suburban
settings than ever before. I thought of my own city with little
parks scattered about, nice walking trails, schools, grocery stores,
and churches. It functions well enough, the city planners didn't do
a terrible job of laying out the city. But if we faced a threat such
as starvation how fast would this illusion unravel?
A yellow jacket's nest, if attacked, will act
as one, even chasing the attacker for up to a mile. That is if they
are faced with a sudden attack or threat. But in the case of a war
of attrition, they will eventually turn on each other, as I witnessed
that day. Again I thought of my community. My city is faced with
flooding every so often and we diligently fill and place sandbags to
prevent a catastrophe. But if food became scarce I wonder how long
that friendly Scandinavian spirit would last. Would we turn on each
other, much like any tightly grouped species on this planet?
As our nations debt spirals out of
control and, as evidenced by the Benghazi attacks, we find ourselves
more vulnerable to attack than ever before, it has become prudent to
not put much faith into civilization staying civilized in a time of
unrest. It is quite ironic that when we are more hive-like than ever
before we have a community organizer at the helm. But as mother
nature allowed me to see, you cannot depend on others, even those who
you trusted, to have your back when vital resources are at stake. I
urge my friends and family to get prepared. Hurricane Sandy also
showed us how quickly infrastructure can fall apart and how necessary
it is to have food, water, and an alternate power source available to
you in a time of crisis.
Ultimately our fate is dictated
according to God's will, but if you ever feel led to prepare, much
like Noah, then you need to heed that call. Remember it is not up
the government to make sure you are fed, only our security is under
their jurisdiction.
“By faith Noah, being warned by God
concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark
for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and
became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.” Hebrews
11:7
No comments:
Post a Comment