The Snakes in Our Garden

My grandfather always told me when I was going to play outside, "Watch out for snakes; they slighter in and you never see them until they bite you and inject their venom." I 'm beginning to see the wisdom in those words; yes, in the obvious meaning, but it has deeper undertones to life.

The best way to break up a family or community is to find their vulnerabilities and differences and exaggerate them to the point where family members turn against one another. These people can seem like innocent participants in life or have a more sinister intent, and in some cases, a combination of both. There have been members of our community in leadership roles that have good intentions but struggle with communication skills. When these individuals show their weakness—boom—here come the snakes out of the tall grass. They strike, and concerned citizens with a desire to be heard become infected with the venom of the serpent seeking to spread "knowledge" instead of life. No, I'm not likening human leaders to God, but the end result is still the same.

Overcoming the shortfalls of leaders (because they are nothing more than people) is challenging enough, but when the seditious acts of those seeking to drive a wedge become the forefront of "community think," the system begins to collapse in on itself, leaving in its wake the ruins of what was once success. The ones seeking to destroy our community and our family now have before them an open landscape filled with individuals who feel burned, tired, and no longer inspired to participate. They work to replace them with leaders and a much smaller set of followers who, for whatever reason, see socialism as the solution to whatever ails society. The larger group, once bound together by a common goal of a socially conservative community, close their eyes, their drapes, and lock their doors to all of the changes being brought about by the new regime.

At this moment, the damage is done. Our family and our community are at odds with one another over what some would consider to be a huge obstacle that can never be overcome, versus others who seem oblivious to any tension. All the while this is happening, the snakes—aka new Walton County residents that call themselves "community activists"—are now here, multiplying and spreading more and more of their venom. They have the appearance of innocent bystanders but work the situation like a dealer giving free drugs at the playground or a twisted pedophile grooming yet another victim, all the while being interviewed as a spokesperson for our community by national news organizations.

It's time to heal. It's time for our community to put aside its hostility towards our leadership and, yes, one another. Finding gratitude for those things that we do have, rather than coveting the things we don't, will bring about that healing. Once we unite, we can again move forward as a community, as a family. We have to take care and be ever watchful for the snakes that always try to slither into our garden.