The Snapper of Garland County

            Sitting there watching the clock on the wall in front of me, I wanted to escape ... escape the foulness in the air, the apparent lack of anything worth living for.  Where had everything gone wrong? But then that’s why I had come here -- because everything had gone wrong, and nothing mattered except to somehow get things right.

12:06

            I had just gotten off the bus from Jackson Mississippi, it seems the bus was about to throw a rod and wouldn’t make it all the way to Chicago.  Chicago, it seemed a world away.  Spending the summer, this summer -- what was it they were calling it?  The "Summer of Love?"  I guess nobody stopped to inform the white population of Mississippi -- yeah, spending this summer in the South which had been nearly four years long since I first came here in ‘64 to help register colored citizens to vote. Sometimes the hate was so thick -- no, nothing could cut it.

            It’s not so bad for me at least these days.  I suppose I look old enough now to pass for a northern businessman -- they don’t resent carpetbaggers so much, but it’s the scalawag I used to be they really hated.  “Just one of those commie northern college boys come down to stir up our good negras.”  Yeah, I heard that a lot back then, but how bad could it really get?  Sure I got beat up a few times -- and God, that’s where the hate really came through.  I think they didn’t beat me so hard because I was white though.  Traitor, that’s what they’d say, but I could see them hold back, but the black man next to me -- Him?  They never held back.  It was thick alright, but this had to change and I wouldn’t let anything interfere.

            The clock ticked, pinching out moments in a timeless game.

The torch has been passed to a new generation -- ask not what your country ...”

            Because if we don’t act now what good is tomorrow?  What could it mean to live in the land of the free?  That’s what I was thinking anyway.  

It seemed my stop over in Little Rock was going to be a few hours.  They had to send to Fort Smith for another bus -- wherever that was.  I hoped it was in Arkansas.  And then he sat down in the row of chairs in front of me.

            The picture before me was almost comical.  He sat there, a gold tinted tuft of hair peaking up and out of place, bronzed skin worn by the sweat of long days out in the field, scarred blue overalls and mud gathered field boots.  A quintessential cracker; I even thought for a second a piping of straw hung down from his mouth.

            But there was no straw, he was smiling and his pale blue eyes were shadowing my thoughts.  

            People milled about, nebulously plotting the points of the desperate struggle to get to where they were going -- only to begin worrying how they were going to get back.  A man shouted, “12:15 to St. Louis, now boarding.”  Who ever heard of angry revolutionaries swinging their feet together with their oppressor in lily pad park pools?  No, no, we are not satisfied.

            “You one of those civil rights workers ain’t you.”  He was looking right at me.  I didn’t know whether to be frightened or ignorant.  I just looked at him.  “You know it’s getting harder to tell now-a-days.  Ya’ll ain’t in collidge no more, not quite a’fresh faced.  And ya don’t always got them ties on.  But I can tell -- you know how?”  I was curious, I wanted to know, but I just sat there trapped by walls of apprehension. I moved forward in my seat hoping his voice would ebb as I drew closer.  “You can see it in your eyes.  It’s that glowy kind of righteous look, as if ya can’t do nothin' else ‘cept save the whole damn world.”  His profanity was soft and I somehow felt as though he was not there to start trouble, at least not in any physical way.

            “Oh, that’s alright by me.  I guess you doin’ the right thing. Don’t make me no never mind if the coloreds vote.  It’s not like that’s gonna really change folks anywho.  Oh, and I know the change you want.  I know how you northern boys think.”  He was in his fifties I would guess, but it was hard to tell.  The sun stroked wrinkles on his face made him look much older, but youthful vigor grew robust in the muscles of his arms.  They looked as hard and tight as any man of thirty. “Yeah, I think it’s high time they done somethin’, but I guess my views ain’t so pop’lar ‘round here.  Makes me wonder, people actually give a damn enough to go around ‘n dress like some pointy headed ghost rider and burn the cross o’Jesus -- just cause he’s mad about somebody gettin’ a’part uh what he’s always taken fer granted.  Don’t that beat it?”  Yes it does, but someday the work will be done and life can go back to what it should be. But until then those pointy hats, as he so aptly called them, have got to be addressed.

            “Ya know, I think one-a-my distant cousins is one of the grand wizards, dirt dumb, between you and me, his wife now, she’s sharp as a tack. Bitter hateful woman, but sharp as a tack -- You don’t talk much do ya?  Usually you civil rights boys don’t mind talkin’ to me.  Yeah, I met a bunch of ‘em, and they all got the glow. Nothin’ else, jes save the world ... what is it?  Peace, justice and the Merican way?”

            “Truth.”

            “What was that -- so you do talk.  Truth is it?  I should watch more tel’vision I reckon, just always got somethin’ better to do.  You know what I like best of all Mr. Truth, I guess I’ll have to call you that on account I don’t rightly know if’n you can say anythin’ else.”

            “No, I’m sorry, I guess I was just preoccupied.”

            “Too much to say hello?”

            “I know, it’s just that, well you know -- my name’s James, James Tracey.  I’m a lawyer from Chicago, and you’re right I was down in Mississippi registering people to vote.  So what is it that you like best of all?”  I cracked a smile at him suggesting my embarrassment and noting my passive interest.  His eyes grew wide with excitement and his face glowed as he revealed just what it was he liked best of all.

            “Snappin’.”  Snappin’? He saw the quizzical look on my face, and his own expression reflected my attitude almost as if he was equally surprised that I had no idea what Snappin’ was.

12:21

            He slowly moved to his feet and waded over to the chair next to me, throwing my discarded newspaper over to the next seat.  

            I repeated back to him in a questioning tone, Snappin’?”

            “Yeah, Snappin’, folks used to say I was snappin’ fore I ever came outta my Momma’s womb.  Justa snappin’, about the snappinest, well, I guess the snappinest dude thay ever was.”

            My tone became a struggle for understanding, almost declaratory to emphasize my need for clarification.  “Snappin’.”

            “Yeah, Snappin’,” his voice droned up an octave and moved higher up the scale with each repetition.  “Snappin’ ... Snaaappin’ ... SNAAAAPPIIIIN’.”  Exasperated he lunged to his feet and stood out in the aisle barely drawing the attention of two elderly ladies in white gloves and netted hats sitting three seats to my left.  “Boy, you big city northern folks amaze me.  You don’t know ‘bout snappin’?  Just how does you’ens live?”  My eyebrows raised as if I too was as flabbergasted that I didn’t know Snappin’.  How could I possibly have lived?

            He turned to an angle in front of me, rigid in form and utterly motionless.  His right hand extended outward, slowly rising to a ninety degree angle with his body. Palm side down and then slowly twisted palm side up.  He extended his index finger outward and with the rest of his digits made a fist.  Then the thumb rotated over to make a pointing gun with his hand ... and then he snapped and the fingers rolled to create that first clicking sound followed by two more in melodic succession * **.  His previously rigid arm moved rhythmically with the snaps until his body bent and contorted with the sounds of staccato clicking * ** *** ** *    *   **   *  **  *      * soon the tongue joined in audible smack accompaniment ** < <  <  * * < * < * < ** until the whole of his body -- joints, fingers, tongue, nails, all moved and mashed to create a cricketed chorus of taps and smacks and clicks of all sorts * <*< **   <*> >*< >> *** << ++ ## ^^ < > < _ + # # ** * * >< ** > <> <> ÿ § <><> <** ÿ * ÿ and then rigidity returned with the right arm again extended, the snaps slowly ebbing in their course * *** * * *** ** * * * and then with a brief pause the final sounds, *      *       *       *         !  The final sound was a hollow thump emanating from the depths of his shoulder, loud, corrosive and hauntingly grotesque.

            He stood there in front of me quite still, sweat pouring down that windswept face.  His right arm was limp at his side, and with his left he pulled a red kerchief from his pocket to sweep across the brow of that saddle worn skin.  Then he smiled.

            “That last one was my real show stopper, hurts to throw my shoulder outta socket now’days, but back in my prime it was nothin’, and oh the sound, much clearer then.”  He sat back down beside me and gave a little grunt while he apparently thrust his shoulder back into place.  “Now that’s Snappin’, Jimmy.”  I just sat there and nodded my head.  I didn’t know whether to applaud or laugh.  This was the sort of hillbilly fare you can only dream of, but could never really believe that such hokey nonsense might ever actually occur.  

            “It was different back in my day though, used to be the biggest attraction ‘round these parts.  Well, I guess not so much here in Little Rock, city folk gotta way a’puttin on airs, and seein’ how this is the cap-i-tull and all.”  He sat back and took a minute to settle down.  His chest eased in and out and for a moment things were quiet.

            A woman over in the corner of the terminal watched her son as he ran circles around her baby’s carriage.  She grabbed him by the arm and swat down towards his face.  The child laughed.  She had missed.  With the second swing there was no laughter, only the red of her print against his white pained skin.  Three black youths stood knee-propped against the far wall to the right, their hands placed proudly on their crotches.  Three white teenagers stood knee-propped against the far wall to the left, their hands placed proudly on their crotches.  A mirror image, a world apart.  And the clocked ticked on.

What then must be done? We voted for a man who knew the words to our hymns, but not the numbers on our paychecks.  

1:03

            The display hardly seemed to faze anyone in the terminal, but then it reminded me of some wino at the train station in Chicago dancing for a dime, and nobody ever seemed to notice that either. Then he began again.

            “Back in my day things was differ’nt from what they is now, a lot more simple.  Folks then didn’t even much care about this whole civil rights business neither, black or white.  And just what is this black power ... is that some kinda magic?  See, if the country went through the Great Depression in the thirties, I reckon we always had the Bad Depression here.  People were so poor they found they own ways a’amusin’ themselves. They used to come from miles around to see Snappin’ shows.  I guess you’d prolly call it a tournament or somethin’ fancy like that.  But this was more like a fair, which I guess it was since most times it happened at county fairs and the like. Yeah, back in the day things was simple.”  He had a look of melancholy nostalgia on his shaking head, but this was more than mere fond remembering.  You could see a sense of disappointment on his face, not that the times were gone, perse, but that they were forgotten.

            “I’ll skip the in between, but let me tell ya‘bout the Great Snap Off of ‘32."  He smiled and grinned, eagerly waiting for a nod to suggest it was time to begin his story. "It seems that was the only thing folks was talkin’ ‘bout that year.  It was to be held here in Little Rock at the Fair Grounds on the first weekend in November.  Ya, that’s all folks talked about all Summer and Fall, who’s gonna be what’s doin’ how’s to who.  All that jabberin’, folks don’t much jabber ‘bout ‘portant stuff like that no more.”

            “Now by Snappin’ standards I was still pretty green, only been in a few snap offs down home.  You know they’s just small time events, but my Pa, he knew, he knew alright, saw it right away, and he knew jes what I could do if’n I put my mind to it. Like I said, folks used to say I was Snappin’ before I came outta my Momma’s womb.  That year the quality of Snappers was ne’er to be duplicated. Poppy Calloway who had won just about everythin’ for the last twenty years or so before that was there, and so was Louisiana Pops, who was really from Mississip’.  But then that’s another story.”  He gave a hint of a chuckle and then proceeded.

            “See this was also ‘fore ever’body got all up in arms about the coloreds too, so Davis “Snap” Jackson was there.  I reckon he won just ‘bout everything else that Poppy didn’t. He was from Northern Arkansas and rarely ventured out of the hills.  I spose he’d heard bout all the doin’s and what not, and jest had to be a part. Course only a few folks heard ‘bout me, but those what knowed me, they knowed they was somethin’ special there. Not like I’s braggin’ or nothin’ but that’s jest how it was, like I said Snappin’ before I ever came outta my Momma’s womb.  I was jesta Snappin’.”  His tale went on and I began to wonder if this was just a spinning ball of yarn for the benefit of a less than knowledgeable Northerner, or if such ridiculous events really took place.

            It seems he was about sixteen or so at the time of this snapping event.  I thought it rather ironic that the biggest event of 1932 was a Snap Off, as opposed to the most pivotal election of the 20th century.  He was, if anything, a born story teller.  

            Snappers, he explained, could use any audible noise the body could make except tapping of feet.  “Nope, can't do that -- that’s dancin’.  I thought you city boys was smart?”  But the most important rule was that a snap had to occur at least half the time. “And that’s pretty hard if you crack too many knuckles, gotta keep count and keep snappin’.”  He seemed entranced by the complexity of the rules and became agitated at some of my naive suggestions.  “Clappin’?  That’d be stupid.  Folks what clap only do so because they can’t make no better noise .... Clappin’? Where’d you say you’ens from, cause seems sometimes like it’s the moon.  Clappin’.”  His lips blew out the sound of disgust but then rolled into a smile before he began again.

            The event opened with each contestant standing on the stage performing a compulsory exercise of something akin to snapping Simon Says. An older expert not in competition would sound out a routine of snaps, some complex and some simple, but those who did not mark the specific cadence were out.  The judges sat right in front eyeing each contestant watching for a missed cue.  “Then behind them was a sea a’faces that stretched out to what seemed like Oklahoma, but a’course it was prolly only a few thousand or so, and microphones not bein’ so much in them days you had to keep an awful quiet to hear anythin’ in the back.  Likeways, if’n you was gonna use a finger pop, or elbow snap, you’d better be good enough to make the sound travel.  But you gotta realize, they’s death silence round and that helped.  Nobody said a word, after all this was about Snappin’, not talkin’.”

            “The first to go down was one o’them Texans -- they can’t snap anyhow, alls I remember is this guy’s big ol’ ears.”  After the initial round ten were left and there was a brief recess.  “Then the Snappin’ Queen came out.  She was so purty, golden hair strung down in a braid on her back.  Bluest eyes I’d ever seen and a mouth full of shiny white teeth.  She was wearin’ a blue satin dress which back in those days was somethin’ only a princess, or in this case a Queen, coulda weared.”  He gave a playful wink at his royal pun.  “I was instantly in love.  I thought if only I win she’ll fall fer me.  I had to win -- you understand -- I was already in agony and I’d only just seen her for the first time not jest a’second before.”  The Queen officially recognized the remaining contestants, reading their accomplishments as if it were a resume to apply for a vice-presidency in a securities firm.

            “Till a’course she got to me.  She’d knowed all the rest if by nothin’ else than by reputation, but me, she stopped and turned backwards as I moved forward when my name was read off. She just looked back and stared for a second.  I jest stood froze in my overall’s, white go-to-meetin’ shirt and black Sunday boots what Pa give me that very same day.”  And then the miracle happened.  “Gall darned if she didn’t smile at me ... if the others had knowed the fact that had on me, I spose they’d cried foul.  I knew right then she loved me too.”

            The contestants drew lots to see what order they would proceed for the final Snap Off.  Three towners, as they were called, drew the first slots.  They were local boys from Little Rock who always entered but were never quite good enough to win, probably due to their urban insensitivity to the real intricacies of Snappin’.  The final three were named:  third from last Poppy Calloway, second from last Snap Jackson and finally, “lucky I guess, I was last.”

1:20

            One after the other proceeded on to the stage, the fixated collective eye of the audience anticipating there first move.  “Some guys’ould come out and try to wow people with flashy costume and some kinda silly routine, gyratin’ and gesticulatin’ all around.  That’s how you could kinda weed out the good from the bad. See if you really got the snap, you ain’t gotta have all the flash.  You jest Snap.  They say I used to snap in my Momma’s womb, fore I’s born even!”

            The first snapper came out obviously nervous.  He practically stumbled out to the center of the stage.  A short man in his mid-thirties, he was a towner in a gray pinstripe suit whose pants were a full four inches from the ground.  “Didn’t matter though, in those days people wore their pants a bit higher. Not like today with those hippy kids wearin’ sailor pants which flop all over their legs.”  He swathed a sweaty palm across a sweated brow taking a long last second to scan the crowd.  Slowly the sound came forth * ** *** slow and tedious, devoid of inspiration.  The crowd gave a low groan as he finished, mopping his flowing brow again as he crept off the stage.

            One after the other, locals and foreign competitors came and went, and this year there had even been a Yankee.  He was ironically from Chicago, “jes’ like you.  You know I been to Chicago.  Yeah ever once in a while we go up to Wrigley Field when the Cubs is playin’ the Cardinals.  See we ain’t got no real Southern baseball teams, ‘ceptin’ those carpetbaggers what moved to Atlanta from Milwaukee, so ever’body roots for the Cardinals. Course they was good back in my day jest like now, and this was before the colored players started.  I like that one kid they got, Gibson, somethin’ fierce in that boy.  And I never did see a player what could run like Lou Brock, but then the Birds ain’t been the same since Stan the Man re-tired.”  The Yankee strode out from the side shadows.  He was dressed in a modest black suit, black thinly striped red and blue tie, and pointy, shiny shoes.  He stretched out his right leg and silently slid it back into his body seemingly sending a shiver out to a waving finger *.  Then he proceeded to duplicate the feat with his left side. Slide and wave * before both legs ebbed out, and with a turn of his whole body the display began.  ** *  * * ** ** a percussion of sounds soon commenced, * ÿÿ * *** * ÿ # ÿ # *** # # ** ÿ * *** * ÿ *** ÿ, but as ambitious as it was, “it was still jest a’Yankee.”

            The crowds responded with their approval, but it paled with the swelling roar that soon spoke up.  Heads turned on stage and off, until the deafening claps silently crawled away.  A vaunted figure moved slowly, as befit both his age and stature, towards the stage. Only the echoes of tiny black crickets and hidden Katie-dids remained.  Grey tufts waved under the spot lights glow, broad shoulders extended out from an aging silk collar, extending down towards the tails of an ancient tuxedo.  “Jeans a’course, he was wearin’ jeans and shiny black cowboy boots underneath. There ain’t enough o’s in smooth to describe it though.”  He was like the great warrior called into battle one last time to save his country, Cincinnatus, recalled from ancient glory.  He stopped slightly left of center stage and bowed to the throngs of awe struck faces and toothless grins.  He moved slightly to the right of center stage and bowed to an equally awed and begging crowd.  “Beggin’ cause he was the best, he was the reason they were all there, and he was the closest thing to God any of them would ever know.  Ya see, most of them city folks was Reformed, and that just ain’t gonna get it done.”  Another wink came as I realized this was a joke, and I had to assume he was of another more selective denomination, but of this wit I remained witless.  

            * * * * *   ** ****  * * *    * **    * **** * * ** *** A heavy drop of fingers, a splashing display of two united hands crafting a melody in monotone clicks.  Beat upon beat, pounding faster, poking at the air.  “It was Snappin’.”  ** ** ** *** *** *** * *   *  *   ** ** *.  Again and again in almost a fidgety rapture until hearts seemed to break at the ease with which the sound came.  And then just as the seizure began to take hold, sounds of all sorts poured from the body, <> * * === *** ** > ^ #ÿ#   * * * ** ÿ **** *** ÿÿÿ  ** ** ** ÿÿÿÿ *** ÿÿ ** ÿÿ ÿ *** ÿ Ç ** ÿÿÿÿ ÿ * ÿÿ ** ÿÿ ÿÿÿ“ ** ÿ ÿ ÿ ** ** ÿ ÿÿ ÿ* * * ÿ* +ÿ +ÿ* **)( *** ^%((*#(*** ** * ^*^ *((* ÇÓÇ *** çç ** ÿÿ ÿ ** çƒç ** ÿ ** ÿ ** ¥ÿ * ÿÿÿ ** • ** confusing the mind with an array of seeming machine gun fire, a point of madness to endure and go beyond until slowly ebbing to the methodical melody and grace that began with a simple *.  “My heart sunk when I heard it, I had never heard Snappin’ like that, and for the first time I was ashamed of what I did, all the times I used to entertain the old boys what hung out at the barbershop, playin’ for Momma whilst she cooked, snappin’ so’s my baby sister ‘ould fall to sleep.  But out of that shame grew another feelin’.  Poppy Calloway bowed to the audience and I heard what sounded like thunder, and suddenly I was proud again.  He looked at me and darned if he didn’t wink.”

            Jackson came up next.  By this time the people were on their feet buzzing from what they had just heard.  “And folks knew that if anyone could come close to ol’Poppy it was Snap Jackson.  I mean they didn’t call him Snap for nothin’. I looked at him as he moved out on stage, right before he went up the first step he was met by Poppy.  They both looked at each other for a sec’, and then gave a smile and a chuckle slappin’ at the other’s hands.  They had been through quite a few tussles in their day. Sometimes it was Snap, sometimes Pops, but each time I reckon they figured the other was the better one.  I guess it’s because they’s both the best, but totally diff’ernt.  It was respect, real respect.”

            Jackson was seemingly liquid as he walked out to the stage. Fluid and graceful, an altogether different grace, however, than his rival.  And he made the most of body gestures to enhance his peculiar artistry. Slowly beginning with echoed sounds * * * * ) ) ) * * * ( ( ( * ( * ( * ) * ) * ) ) ) * * * < < * * > > * * ( ( ** ** ) ) until a blend was achieved *(<>) *** (( <<*>> )) **** ((( <)***(>))) * < * <* < *** < * < * > * > *** > * > * > * and the sound could progress along a new line. * ÿÿ * ÿÿ *** < ^^ << *** >^^ >> **<^>**  < ~> ** * * ** *  < <         *** ***   *   ^^ ^^ ** ** ~~~~~-- ** - *** -~-~- **** -** _- * -_- **- ** till such a flurry was achieved that it ended with a total combination.  The crowd at once “jumped and death silence took hold.  All of a sudden they begun to cheer, screamin’, cryin’ crazy shameless cheers.  It was almost teeth pullin’ crazy.  I was desperate.  I couldn’t think.  This was it, and I was licked before I even started.  I looked around for somethin’, for somethin’ to break me away from what I’d jest seen.  It was all too much ... until she again caught my eye.  She was jest standin’ in back a’the judges, sittin’ purty in the regal robes what you get for bein’ the Snappin’ Queen.  Her face was all lit up in the fluster of the moment, just smackin’ away at a piece a’gum an’ grinnin’ from ear t’ear.  And as I watched the sparkle in her eyes, I jest knew what I had to do.”  

            “Now ya see, any sort of foreign object to produce a sound is illegal.  That’s why they ain’t no foot stompin’llowed.  So here’s what I did.

2:21

            He waded out mischievously into the middle of the stage, and while the time for snappin’ was closely monitored to less than three minutes, that time did not commence until the first snap. So that gave plenty of leeway for setting atmosphere, an all too important aspect of Snappin’.  Once there, he drove his hand menacingly into the front pocket of his overalls and made as if he pulled something out. Unwrapping it, he shoved it into his mouth; and all this without a sound.  “Now to those way t’the back they musta thought I’d gone crazy and took out some gum or candy.  Most people in the front even had half a’gasp on they faces.  Some was jest grinnin’ at the new kid makin’ a fool mistake.”  He gently opened his mouth, noticeably gesturing and extending his beginning ( and then down * opening ( and down again *       ( * )   ( * )  ( * ) (*) (*) * until the plot was known and a roar of muffled laughter went shrill into the air.  The hands extended outward, flailing a suprised motion ** *** ** *** ** * * )()( * ** ** * ()() and blowing outward, rattling in the breeze * * *** ^^ ** () ** )( ^ * ^ )( ** ** << * << a whole orchestra of sounds ÿ * * ç ** ** ÿ *µ * ÿ* * ÿ* ÷**÷ ÿ ** ÿ ** ÿ *ÿ* ¢ **** *ÿ§* *•* ÿÿÿ *** ˆ ** ¥ ** ´´ ** ˆ * ˆ *¨¨* ¥** **¥ *ÿ* to a deafening roar ÿÿ** ÿ **ÿÿ *** ÿÿ˜ *** ÿ* ÿ * ÿ * ÿÿ ** ÿÿ ** ÿÿÿ ***ÿ*** *çÿ *çÿ *çÿ *çÿ and a heightened pitch * * * ( ** ) ** ÿ ÿ *  ¨ **  ÿ*ÿ*ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿ *** * * ÿ * *ÿ * * ÿ ¥**¥ ** )( *ÿ ÿÿ *ˆ ˆ ¥* ¥** ¥*** ¥** + **¥ *)*+*(*until bent and furious with sweat he stepped forward towards the crowd, and there renewed with only the snap of blinding fingers  * *   * *** ** * ** ***   * * * ** * * ** **** **** ***             * *** **** *** **      * * *       ** ** *   **** ** ** *** ** **    ** ** * * ** * *** *** *** * * * * *** ** ** ** **** ** ** ** * * * *****   ** then with a jerk to his right !and a jerk to his left !sockets and fingers flashed and ground in front of bewildered faces  !*! !* !* **** *!  !!* *!! * **   *! *!  *! !*! !* !* !  *! !* *!   !* !* *! *!  !* !*  * ***!! *!! *! *  *** !*! !* !*!*!    * ! * ! * ! * ! ** !!! *** !! * ! * ! * ! * ! * ! * ! * ! * ! * ! * ! * ! * ! *

            “It was the first time ever I throwed my shoulders out before, but it seemed just as natural as anythin’ I’d ever done, just like snappin’.  They say I used to snap before I ever came out a’my Momma’s womb.”  With that, a wry bashful smile showered over his face.  “I leapt off the stage and ran to my clappin’ Daisy, that was the Queen’s name.  I knew I was never gonna let her outta my sight again.  We were married three years later, and about three years after that little Wilson was born; went to Harvard, that’s right, that’s where she went to school.  Then Junior was born ‘bout two years later.  Never saw a more beautiful sight.  He came out with his fingers crossed.  I thought I heard him snappin’ on his way into the world.  But with that gift I lost Daisy, not that I’m bitter though, I got two reminders of her and six more from them.”  His face for a second seemed doused in sorrow, his eyes became wet and heavy.  He moved his hand around his back, where I thought he was going to pull out his handkerchief, but instead he removed his wallet.  “Ya, they’s everythin’ to me. You got anybody?”  I moved my eyes away from him back up to the clock on the wall.

4:23

            I could see the faint smile of a face reflecting in the glass. She had not wanted me to go. She said she wouldn’t be waiting when I returned as she had always done, not this time.  But I went anyway.  I was always putting her off for something else, some long far away cause, she said, when there was so much that could be done right there at home. Not this time, but I went anyway. 

            I really missed that smile.  

            A feeling of a firm hand gripped my distracted forearm. “Here see, take a look, these is my kids and they kids.”  I silently gleaned over the portraits.  “Yeah I been alot’a places, though I guess you’d never gather that.  I jest always returned here.  I learnt a’long time ago -- maybe that’s what I learned from that time with Poppy and Snap -- they’s lots a’stuff in the world, but so little of it really means much.  This here is what life is to me,” he flipped the wallet to expose a grinning Queen, “the rest is jest Snappin’.”

            I wandered out to find my bus, they had just made the final boarding call.  He walked out with me, almost as if he were a relative waiting until I departed to say good-bye.

            “Well Sir, it has been quite interesting getting to know you.”

            “You jest hear what I say and have a good life, Jimmy.”

            “By the way, I never did get your name.”

            “Why ever’body jest calls me the Snapper, the Snapper of Garland County.”  With that he smiled, turned around and walked back into the terminal.  He stopped at the doorway waving as he yelled back, “See ya, Jimmy.”

            I entered the bus and sat down towards the rear for the ride home.  The world seemed somehow different, though I didn’t hardly know if the Snapper had “jest” been pulling my leg.  I realized that there was a world there worth saving as well.

            The doors of the bus opened and I hailed a cab to take me home. I moved to the doorway and opened the lock.  Standing behind the open door, there she was, something really worth living for and right there in front of me all the time. I never let that out of my sight again. Tick, tick, tick ….

            I have a Dream.  By any means necessary.

Understanding Different Worlds: The Premise of Most Hypotheses

UNDERSTANDING DIFFERENT WORLDS:  A MODERN THEME

            People are different, and as individuals sometimes quite unique.  You can say this about whole cultures, societies and nations every bit as much as with individuals.  But on the flip side you’ll hear people say that human nature, or many other things about human beings, is the same anywhere in the world.  “People are people,” is a common saying, and maybe on some level it is true.  Can both be true?  In a way they are both true:  people are the same and they are different.  But how this is true is what is important and what will be reflected in the definitions below. 

            What years of research has revealed (and not all historians would follow these ideas) is that people bear out similarities and differences based on the basic values they possess.  The culture any person lives in represents the collective choices made by people, which, in turn, shapes and molds values over time.  Therefore, it’s logical to assume that cultures can also be similar and different based upon the values formed in their peoples.  This means that cultures thousands of years apart can be more similar (or different) than some that exist at the same time.  When these cultural value systems are examined it is possible to break them down into really basic elements as to concepts of self, time, education, work, place, and what the world is and how it works.  All cultures share these basic concepts, but it appears that there are different ways these concepts are developed depending upon where and when that culture existed.   Some cultures share common concepts of time (they think it moves forward), for example, while other cultures might view time in altogether different ways (they think it moves in circles). 

            To start our analysis we will define three general cultural concept groups, or worlds, which developed in the past, and which still exist in the present.  These worlds we call, The Natural World, The Archaic World and the Modern World.  At times these worlds interact and do affect each other, but for the most part they exist separately, both in time, and in place.  What is most important to understand is that some of the values of these worlds may be similar, but the basic means of life, and the understanding of what that life means are fundamentally different in these worlds.  This means that people in the Modern World and the Archaic World, or people in societies with a different value systems, are not the same, and neither do they think, act or believe in the same way.  Below we will list the basic definitions and features of these three worldviews and general modes of human life.  We will define these worlds in terms of basic physical, spiritual, and mental orientations by which we believe people live.  Following these definitions we will lay out a few general rules of human relations, by which we will be able to note changes in various forms of consciousness. 

            Since our focus is on the transition made by some societies from what we will describe as Archaic values to Modern ones, we will make more concrete our definition of these worlds, as opposed to the short synopsis of the Natural World.  Scholars almost always address this question of how and why they choose to develop some topics and not others, and it is a valid question for students to keep in mind.  Why choose to use one event, or person, as an example and not something, or someone else?  Our answer that we are focusing on a transition, primarily, of Archaic values to Modern, keeps our focus driven towards a certain point, which will make it easier for students to see, and understand our interpretive points.  Also, our focus on this transition will also enable us to broaden our perspective to interpret facts not only in terms of their immediate significance, but also within a long term span of time.

The Natural World

            Historians used to use terms like "pre-historic peoples," and even before that, "barbarians," to denote a certain system of human living which pre-dated what was termed "civilized" society.  In the twentieth century modern scholars, with a modern value system, became more accepting of other ways of life (something that non-modern cultures do not do), and realized that all human cultures are valid on their own terms, and simplicity of form does not mean backwardness or a lack of worth.  Today, on every continent, there are still cultures and societies of people who live what can be termed a Natural existence.  The study of Natural peoples is more commonly associated with anthropology, than with history, partially because even modern historians do not see natural societies as important in human development. 

            The method and mode of Natural life conforms to the earliest patterns and associations of human beings.  The twentieth century variety, whether in the Arctic, the Amazon or some Pacific Island, is not the same as existed one, ten or twenty thousand years ago, because even these remote peoples are affected by global developments in other societies, and live in an altered natural environment.  Still, there are some basic similarities between peoples of the Natural World, whether living now or in the past. 

            The most common similarity is the lack of a formal state structure with set and established boundaries, formal legal systems, and in some most cases no permanent location.  Natural societies' lack of a formal state apparatus, which could also include not having commercial or manufacturing systems, religious institutions, like churches, mosques or temples, or even social hierarchies, used to be seen as primitive by most scholars.  But primitive seems to be a bit judgmental for the tastes of many scholars.  Natural societies being the earliest form of human groupings depend on hunting and gathering, much as our first ancestors Homo Sapiens Sapiens did when they emerged as the dominant hominid on the planet some 35,000 years ago. 

            HSS replaced other Homo Sapiens, like Neanderthal, either through brutally slaughtering the competition, of which there is some evidence to support, or because the competition was not fit enough to survive by some other cause.  The life that emerged for these first humans, who dominated the planet until at least 10,000 years ago, was primarily nomadic, hunting and gathering, and from our perspective, perhaps, very animal like.  But then after all, humans are animals.  In the Natural World, humans have existed in small, subsistence oriented, mobile villages, often with very little social differentiation.  Classes or castes are relatively non-existent because of a lack of surplus resources.  Most of the whole community's time is spent providing for the most basic human necessities, food, clothing, and shelter.  We can assume, because these people are human that they have self-awareness, but what are their ideas about whom and what they are.  While this is not the place to develop fully the lives and patterns of the Natural World, it is important to attempt to assess just what their own identity patterns, meaning how they saw themselves, were possibly like. 

            To give you an idea of what Natural people may have thought about themselves, and therefore what their sense of consciousness might have been, consider the famous images that Natural man left behind.  The most famous is, of course, cave paintings and other drawings found in many sights around the world, and most especially those cave paintings found in Lascaux, France known as the Hall of the Bulls.  If this were all that could be known about life in the Natural World what might these elegant pictures of bulls tell us?  And more importantly, what might it tell us about how these people may have defined human being, the self?

            To answer the first question, most anthropologists list reasons behind painting bulls as homage to their food source, or as a fertility symbol.  A bull as representative of fertility could also indicate a spiritual connection between these creatures and humans, and help us define what their religious life may have been like.  Alternatively, these pictures are thought by some scholars to have a less symbolic or spiritual place in Natural societies, but rather they believe such images may have been emblems of families or clans who inhabited those caves.  Another practical idea is that these paintings may just relate information about patterns of migration of the herds.  Such information would certainly be important to a hunting and gathering society. 

            But let's look at it another way.  Animals in these painting are often depicted with great detail, and when humans are represented they are often amorphous (lacking precise definition), and stick like.  What might it mean for a society to draw bulls and not representations of themselves?  A conclusion that many students make, and it is a reasonable one, is that Natural man's idea of self was in some way defined through the bull.  The bull symbolized the group, and in turn gave meaning to each person.  The bull, and not a human face, or character, therefore, was their conception of self, was their collective identity -- the bull was the self, in every bit the same way people now derive identity and meaning in modern American society from their personality, or a unique name -- the self is the self.  And in a society, like that of Natural peoples, where the bull was food, fuel, clothing, shelter, where the bull was life, it is very easy to see how people would derive consciousness through the symbol of an animal, and not directly from being human.

            Between about the years 8,000 b.c.e. and 5,000 b.c.e., several places around the planet, the natural world began to settle down because of the discovery of farming, and domestication of animals.  In settling people began to refashion their societies and their mentalities.  Between the Natural and Archaic Worlds there is not so much a difference in values, but rather a difference in the context by which those values are understood.  Stable agriculture allowed societies to develop more complex systems of life based, primarily, on Natural values, which resulted in the formation of state societies in some cases, and also stable non-state societies.   Establishing permanent settlements and attaining small surpluses of resources provided the basis for new general patterns of human life to emerge which we have labeled the Archaic World.

The Archaic World

            If you've taken an early civilization course, or Civilization I, you know that "History" usually begins with the development of stable agricultural societies, with a focus mainly on those societies with formal state systems.  What will be offered here is a basic definition of the general values which make up the Archaic World.  By these definitions the student of history can compare and assess differences in ideas, events and actions with those occurrences that will be associated with the values of modernity. 

Five Facets of the Archaic World:

Communal:  The orientation of people in the Archaic world, both in terms of self reference and in relation to others can be defined as communal.  The definition of self, people's own description of who and what they are, comes from being part of a particular group with a certain set of cultural features, e.g. the way they wear their hair, the type of clothing they use, the shape of their homes, the language or dialect they speak, etc.  Scholar's sometimes say that such a definition of self is externally derived.  What this means, in general, is that Archaic societies do not place emphasis on the importance of individual being.  As a concept, most Archaic societies do not have the same sense of "individual" life, as will develop in the Modern World.  Therefore, in relation to other people, sole persons do not accept an inherent worth for human life, but rather understand the value of others in terms of their connection to the community.  The Archaic World, and its societies, both state and stateless, is not very accepting of outsiders.

Traditional:  Historians used to describe ancient, or tribal, or primitive cultures as unchanging and static societies.  Human societies, however, do not exist without some form of change.  Change is an inherent part of life, but how people will deal with change can be very different, and is often determined by a cultures orientation of time.  Archaic societies' orientation of time can be termed traditional, for two similar reasons.  First, Archaic societies have a fundamental reverence for the past, particularly in maintaining ancestral forms.  Maintaining continuity with the past makes sense for peoples who derive their identity from external forms.  For example, if styles of clothing are changed in a society that connects who and what they are with traditional forms of dress, then the definition of self also changes.  In other words, Romans, for instance, cannot wear pants; Romans wear togas.  Second, change for changes sake, innovation in other words, is not valued, and is often feared, unless absolutely necessary.  Traditional does not just entail reverence for the past; it also entails a fear of what is new, and in part a fear of a future that does not base itself on the past.  If meaning of life, and of self, if consciousness, therefore, is derived in part from external factors, a reverence for past habits, and a fear of alteration, change will also usually only occur very slowly.

Hereditary/Caste:  Following the train of thought of communal and traditional values, the orientation of work and economy, and more specifically, the organization of labor in the Archaic World, is most likely to involve hereditary patterns to determine who will perform what function in society, and what position or rank that function will bring a person, family or clan.  In general, birth determines social rank, and also determines the functions of a person’s life, the things they will do to stay alive.  There is little room in most Archaic societies for social mobility, meaning changing what you do is a rare achievement, and changing how you are viewed within the community seldom occurs.  This means that, technically, the Archaic world was ordered by static castes, instead of classes.  Scholars sometimes describe social rankings in the Archaic world in terms of classes, as in ancient Greece and Rome, which were still normally determined by birth, but even here their is far less mobility, the possibility for change, than in the modern world where class is commonly associated with degrees of wealth and possibility of power.

Supernatural:  Some contemporary scholars are often wary of terms like supernatural, or superstitious when describing general features of a society, because they believe it could reflect a bias of their own forms of understanding and put down the belief systems of other societies.  But this is a possibility inherent in any generalization made by one culture, or set of values, onto another culture.  From our frame of reference, and from the values of twenty first century modern society, people in the Archaic world based their understanding of nature, and the accumulation of knowledge on supernatural premises, and quite often on superstition.  Better or worse?  That's a question that really can't be answered, and in some ways is irrelevant because we will never know what it is to live in a supernaturally determined world.  What is relevant is that the Archaic orientation to science and the geophysical world was what one student has called, "an intertwining of the real and the divine."  A great phrase that still needs to be made clearer.  What that student meant was that spiritual beliefs and systems had as much effect on Archaic peoples in their understanding of how the world worked, or what we call science, as did observation and the use of reason.  Reason and spirituality were intertwined, and wisdom was a function of both.  Some societies in the past came very close to what might be called secular understanding, reason without the divine, such as the Greeks, but even then their principles of mathematics and philosophy were not mutually exclusive of religious belief.  Reason in the Archaic world at times functioned despite the divine, but not in spite of the divine.

Agrarian/Tribal:  In general, most people in the past have lived in highly homogenous communities.  It was the exception to come in contact with someone outside of the communities, genetic, ethnic, religious group.  The orientation of space and living patterns in the archaic world reflected this reality, as most communities were agrarian villages based on the tribal affiliations of its members.  Of course, tribe does not have anything to do with the level of technology a community has, but merely means that members of a community live in extended family groupings.  Several related family groups form clans, several clans often compose a tribe, and several tribes compose a people.  To simplify we use the term tribe to mean an association based on genetic or ethnic similarity, where communities are often composed of blood related units.  Tribes usually live in rural villages, small enclaves based on subsistence agriculture and/or domestication of animals.  In state societies, governments often use the meager surpluses of the rural villages to support the development of administrative centers, Cities.  Cities in the Archaic world, however, most often replicate similar patterns of village life by separating tribal, ethnic or religious groups.  Trade and interaction between villages, most usually of related tribal groups, does happen, but it is the exception.  The agrarian village composition of the Archaic world means not the absence of trade, but, with an emphasis on subsistence agriculture, in tandem with other Archaic values, little surplus existed to create extensive commercial activity.  More extensive commercial patterns did at times occur which caused greater diversity in populations, the breakdown of tribal patterns, and the development of new commodities.  Such patterns still did not affect the vast majority of people in the archaic world who lived relatively isolated, meager lives -- all those things which can be attributed to urban life.

            At some point, these facets of the Archaic World began to alter, and new general facets began to become apparent as significant trends of human living.  That is not to say that the new, Modern, trends did away with Archaic patterns.  On the contrary, not all societies around the world embraced or reflected Modern values, and not all modernizing societies became totally free of Archaic values.  Another possibility is that Modernity might compose a different set of values depending upon cultural differences, or even the incorporation of a few of the facets but not all.  The interesting debate lies in defining how and when the Modern World began to rise, and if it really made a substantive impact on the way human beings really live.

The Modern World

            Make sure you understand that the values of the Archaic World did not end, but just as is implied by the word, Archaic means old, or from an earlier period and replaced by something new, is still the basic value system of many of the world's cultures, nations and societies.  Modern values, likewise, did not just all of a sudden replace those of the Archaic (or even the Natural) World, merely because a certain date on the calendar arrived.  Modernization is a process, which has transformed some societies and affected others over the last thousand years, and most particularly within the last 500 years.  But note, it is a process, and therefore, the facets of the Modern World are words, which entail an ongoing change, and a movement toward a particular idea. 

Five Facets of the Modern World:

Individuation:  Individuation means almost what it seems like, individualism of some sort, but it is a little more complex when talking of values which whole civilizations or societies might have in common.  The orientation of the Modern World toward the self and persons in a society increasingly depended less on external definitions in support of a communal identity system, but, rather, internally derived definitions of self, and identity systems which support a novel social being, the individual.  An individual, as you may well take for granted since you live a society which is individuated, is perceived as an independent and self sustaining person.  Internal self-definition is what supports the idea of people as individuals, meaning that each person defines who and what they are based upon their own point of view.  Many students liken this to the personality defining what makes you, rather than belonging to a group, taking part in a common ritual, speaking a certain language, and things of this nature.  But besides the existence of self-sustaining, internally defined and derived individuals, individuation also entails something more, and something much more important when talking about whole groups.  Individuation entails a process whereby society will place an inherent value on individual life which is as great as or greater than the good of the whole community.  Indeed, in most cases in the Modern World the needs of the individual, in the abstract, represent the good of the whole.  Because there is this inherent belief that all humans are important and valuable, the Modern World will begin to incorporate more diverse and tolerant societies.  But make sure you realize that just because individuation may lead to tolerance and diversity, it does not mean that all individuals will be open and accepting of people they define as different and therefore not as individuals.  Here, then, lies the central paradox of the Modern World:  the creation of all people as individuals, and the ability of individuals to keep some people outside this definition.

Innovation:  Innovate means to introduce something new, and, therefore, entails acceptance of new things, or at the very least acceptance of the alteration of old things.  Now, just think for a second about the possibilities of what that will mean in terms of how a person or a people will view the world around them?  What sort of view of past present and future might they have if change is not only accepted, but embraced and pursued?  Return to the definition of traditional in the Archaic World.  This facet held that these societies hold on to the past, and the ways of the past in honor of ancestors, but also because of a fear of the unknown, and therefore a future without continuity and replication (remaking) of the past.  Societies where change is sought out seem to then hold a different view of how change will affect their future.  The future doesn't need to be feared in societies where innovation becomes an integral part, because change itself does not bring fear.  Societies oriented towards time through innovation, then, can also look to the future, just as the Archaic World looked to the past, as a source of inspiration.  Innovation as a general feature of the Modern World has also introduced a progressive ideal into humanity, meaning that people in the Modern World inherently believe that tomorrow will be a better place than today, and societies in the future are better than the past.  Again, a paradox, Modern societies should be able to accept differences owing to their own changing nature, and yet look down upon their neighbors in the Archaic World, a world from which the Modern World developed.

Industrialization:  Most students, and scholars alike, use the term industrial to denote the giant factories of machines which developed in the last hundred and fifty years since the time of "The Industrial Revolution."  With good reason that definition is applied, because those factories are industrial sites, which developed because of the process of industrialization.  But industrialization as a general feature, or facet, of civilization is more than just smoking pipes, assembly lines, and blast furnaces.  It also entails an orientation towards work and economy which is markedly different from the standards of the Archaic World.  With industrialization work is less associated with social rank, as in the hierarchal nature of Archaic societies, than it is with producing commodities. 

            In essence work itself is a commodity, which like most commodities can be traded, altered, and changed.  So, Modern work patterns begin to allow for some mobility, change of status, and change of job.  Work can be compensated through other commodities, or by wages.  The system of industrialization, therefore, can include both free and slave labor systems, but generally industrialization, because of its reliance on creating commodities rather than satisfying subsistence needs, will usually cause the development of free wage labor systems in favor of slave systems.  Slave systems can be more closely associated with the hereditary nature of Archaic patterns, though there is a hold over of this system in the Modern World.  The biggest difference between Archaic and Modern Work patterns, and productive capacities, however, is that the Modern mentality less constrained by tradition and hierarchy, more tied to individual need and desire, has formed work habits (industry) which allow for mass production and mass consumption of commodities, both necessary and luxuries. 

            In the Archaic World, manufacturing processes were often secret, and commodities were not produced for everyone.  Chariots were not made for the poor.  With that mentality, where goods and services are not open to everyone even if they can pay, consumption and production will be low, and protected.  The Archaic World's economic processes and the mentality which drove the economy cannot be thought of in the same ways that we think of our own economic indicators.  Demand (meaning the desire and the means to accumulate essential and non-essential goods) worked differently in the Archaic World. If birth determined social position it also determined the ability to have more things, and also the idea that more personal things should be acquired.  Those who were born to privilege had the privilege to demand, and those who were not, could not demand, and hence most likely would not have developed the sort of desire that makes people in our society want a new and better car every year.  It was utterly alien to most people who lived in the Archaic World.   Those at the bottom rungs of society most likely would not have desired to accumulate wealth, because they knew the possible repercussions too much accumulation for their position in life might entail.  The Modern World began to break those rules with an emphasis on individual importance and expression, and therefore patterns of work and economy were altered to fit a growing demand.  Unlike the regulated hierarchal demand of the Archaic World, the Modern demand system was increasingly open to a growing population of consumers.  This relationship of demand and consumption leads us back to the proposition that the worker is not commodified, only his labor, and therefore, his cash can overcome his birth.

Secularization:  Societies which bear out the process of secularization have an increasing understanding of the difference between divine and human.  In the Modern World there is a differentiation between divine and real, but this does not necessitate a total separation of the two.  The orientation of knowledge, scientific understanding and how the world works according to the standards of the modernizing world, is a product of rational responses learned and appreciated without divine intervention.  Therefore, in secularizing societies there will be less reliance on divinity to legitimize government, to cause rainfall or make the sun rise each day.  Instead, the stuff of everyday life is seen as a product of human inspiration, and understanding.  In a secular world, the sun rises not because of the orbiting earth and its spinning axis, like you learned in science class, but because humans defined it that way, and other humans accepted it. Thus, the prevailing trend in the Modern World is a consciousness that depends on a secular understanding of material processes, even though spirituality and religious belief systems are still part of modern cultures.

Urbanization:  Urbanization, of course, is the process of developing cities, but what we are interested is in defining it in terms of more general processes and relating it to other patterns.  In the Modern World there has been a trend towards increasing percentages of people living in cities, and, therefore, as a question of orientation to space and land usage their has been a breakdown in Modern societies of tribal/familial oriented communities, and a movement away from subsistence based living arrangements.  That is not to say that their exists no connections between extended family in the Modern World, rather, family or tribe is just not the sole determiner of whom will dwell in a given area, region or village as in the Archaic World.  The Archaic subsistence oriented village must by necessity have open, and, or, arable land in order to sustain a population.  The land can be used to grow food, hunt for it, or raise it in the form of livestock, but most of the land will be used towards the day to day task of staying alive.  Urban areas of the Modern World are not based on agrarian, or subsistence patterns, but are based on systems which allow for greater population densities, and a more diverse land usage.  The primary system of modern urban areas is commercial, with the production capacity of a variety of commodities.  Some cities are purely living areas -- these are sometimes called suburbs, and no one living in the suburbs produces any of their own necessities of life.  Cities can have highly diverse populations, at times integrated (a more modern pattern), and at times segregated (perhaps a holdover of Archaic patterns), but the high amount of differentiated space also corresponds to features of the Modern mentality, and in part shows a certain willingness to disconnect dwelling space with self-definition.  In the modern World, in a way, home is where the heart is, not on a particular piece of earth.

            The Modern World is here now, but may very well be changing into some other form which will be completely different in the next five hundred or so years.  There is no way to know, and no way to be that precise.  These facets of the Modern World are generalizations, just like those of the Archaic World, which can be used to describe the basic patterns of aspects of life throughout time.  The definitions offered are not completely comprehensive, nor are they the only possible ways in which to describe each facet, but they are a starting point for you the student to make comparisons, and to do the type of analysis which you will be required to make in interpreting history.  So why do we even bother with generalizations?  Precisely because any historian has a lot of background information on many different subjects upon which they can draw to make comparisons, contrasts, to analyze and differentiate -- in essence, to make history.  You don't have the years of training a historian goes through, and so students need some sort of general basis upon which to make conclusions.  That is what the characterizations of the Natural, Archaic and Modern World can do for you.  But before we start examining historical sequences, and begin to develop interpretations about the past, we have a few general rules regarding human life and behavior which will also help you in your investigations.

Historical Rules

            Like the general facets these historical rules will help with background information which you can use to understand how and why historical events happened, and maybe even more importantly what was their possible significance.  These rules are based on general historical patterns of human development.  But remember, human kind spent more time in the Natural World, and our most basic patterns of life conform to man as a natural animal.  From the dawn of our species about 40,000 years ago until only about 8,000 years ago, when settled, agrarian societies emerged-- the Archaic World -- humanity developed certain tendencies.  These tendencies are what can be called normal, in the Freudian sense, meaning usual, for our species.  The Archaic World incorporated those patterns of thought and action into its societies and the Modern World, for all our faith in our own sophistication has had to confront those general, human patterns.  First we'll give the rule, to which you can refer to in your general reading, and then the basic logic behind that rule's meaning.

Rule #1:          Humans live in groups with varying degrees of organization

            If we were to liken man to the animal kingdom, of which he is a part even if we don't really like to think so, his most primal form of life mode is to belong to a pack.  A pack is usually a family grouping, or related families, small at first and broadening into larger clans, and tribes.  As far as anthropologists and historians are concerned this is human's basic existence in the Natural World.  The Archaic World did not do away with the tribe, but did consolidate it in places, and organize it to produce a modest amount of excess resources.  Those resources enabled cities (large villages), which served as regional centers of administration (government), both civil and religious.  Areas with such centralized administrations, which control a region's resources and maintain set and established boundaries, we call state societies.  Societies without such controls, but still maintaining groupings of humans, we call stateless societies:  both exist in the Archaic World, both exist primarily on agriculture, and both are similar to the basic values of the Natural World.  In some ways the biggest difference between the Natural and Archaic Worlds is the degree of permanent settlement more prevalent in the Archaic World.  Permanence also implies a greater amount of resources, and the accumulation of resources will affect the basic values of any society.  Needless to say, the Modern World also has its forms of organization, which develop out of Archaic state societies.  The Modern World follows Rule #1, even though its organizations will be different in value structure than the Archaic and Natural Worlds.

Rule #2:       Equality is inversely proportional to access to, or the accumulation of resources

            For most of human history, our ancestors lived in a world of very limited resources.  Natural humans devoted most of their waking hours to finding, getting, and maintaining the resources by which they could stay alive.  There social organization was quite simple, and their technology was also simple, only developed enough, usually, to meet their everyday needs of staying alive.  In such a situation, Natural societies, and their cousin Archaic stateless societies, had little social differentiation.  Maybe their was a chief who acted as general, or leader, and maybe even a priest, shaman, or witch doctor who read the signs of the spirit world, but since all hands were needed to obtain the limited resources available, there was in these societies a built in equalizer.  Everybody works, or everybody dies.  That's equality. 

            Increased organization in the state societies of the Archaic World, afforded humans the ability to take advantage of settled agriculture, and begin to accumulate (small) surpluses of goods.  Surpluses had to be managed by someone, and those managers may be, in theory at least, the ancestors of all governors.  Why did some become managers and others not?  Remember the playground bully?  He might give you the answer, if you pay him your lunch money.  You get the idea; it's at least one possibility.  Anyway, those who manage resources are also likely to keep a little more for themselves -- responsibility is worth something isn't it?  The equality of everyday getting and living, has given way to the inequality of resource management.  As more resources accumulated in a society, there became more resources to manage, and more for the manager to keep.  Inequality is eventually substantiated by religion, so the priests become important, and also by law, and so the record keepers (ancestors of lawyers) become important.  Now there exists social hierarchy, and the inequality of state societies.  Modern values, with their emphasis on the individual, on change and industry, will challenge some forms of inequality, but .... inequality of resources will still exist.

            Corollary to Rule #1:  Most people in state societies (Archaic World) either lived as slaves in name, or in a state of life equivalent to that of slavery, and bondage was seldom questioned.

Rule #3:          Humans need resources to survive; if no resources are available humans will seek                                                           them out.

            This is seemingly a very simple and common sense rule, but there are some consequences to this rule which make it much more interesting.  We need resources -- if we don't have them, we'll get them.  What does that really mean?  If we are the only humans, it means nothing we simply gather what we need, but if there are other groups of humans it means a lot more.  If we have nothing, because remember resources are scarce for most of human history, and go over the metaphorical hill where the grass is greener, we will most likely find another group of humans.  This group of humans is like wise connected to each other, just as we are by family units, and so, what might happen?  Two tribes have come together, both needing resources.  Several possibilities exist as to what will come next.  It is possible that they will all join hands, sing together, and share what resources exist around them.  Possible, but not probable, after all humans are animals who will, like most animals, protect and preserve their genetic pool. 

            It is, of course, more likely that these groups will compete for resources in some way.  You know how we do.  This competition does not automatically necessitate fighting, but it is the most common form among animals -- some display of strength where there is a winner and loser.  That does not mean death and devastation.  It is possible that the winning side will incorporate the losers into their tribe, thus forming a new people out of the two groups.  Possible, but not probable.  Yes, it is more likely that the humans will war over their resources and the loser will either be killed or forced to flee to another area (to begin their own quest for resources again).  In the history of our species this scenario, in a variety of shapes and forms, has been frequent -- on every continent, among all peoples.  The implication of this most human of actions is that humans will connect with those similar to themselves, and will generally compete with those different from themselves.  Of course, similar and different do not always have to be genetic, they can be linguistic or religious, or even whether or not you have a star upon your belly -- for that see Dr. Seuss' Star Bellied Sneeches.  So to this rule we will add two corollaries, which follow directly from the logic of Rule #1.

            Corollary to Rule #3:  Migration of human communities happens regularly in human history.

            Corollary to Rule #3:  Humans like those most like themselves, and dislike what is different.

And this rule the Modern World ought to have the most trouble keeping, but as we know what ought is hardly what is .... and that is a hypothesis that probably doesn't need proving.