Neither people were willing to extend legitimacy to the other. Each side believed that they had the right to the land, and that the other was, at best, an unwelcome visitor. Their intransigence was very bad, and caused great sadness across the land.
The stronger side decided to take charge of the weaker side, and claimed that all of its territory would now be under its control. They created special villages and towns for their people, and helped them build beautiful homes, but did not let the other people in. They created wide paved roads to these beautiful towns and villages, but did not let the other people in. They built impressive schools and colleges, and theatres and shopping malls, but did not let the other people in.
Now the fires of the conflict were always lit - sometimes the people fought over big things, and some times over small things. As the years passed, the two peoples became more estranged from one another. They lived in different towns and villages, and almost never saw one another, they rarely talked to one another. The stronger side made sure to keep the other side at a distance, keeping them confined to smaller and smaller areas, behind gates and walls and checkpoints, sometimes with no-to-little access to air space, water space, land space.
The resolution of the conflict between the peoples slipped further and further away. In fact, it became an everyday part of life, and people rarely noticed it anymore.
It became such a regular part of life that the two peoples forgot how to talk to one another. They forgot what the others really looked like, and imagined that they had all kinds of terrible characteristics, and were thought to be very, very evil.
And so, as one year followed another, the stronger side continued to keep the other side locked up, under their control, while trying to go about their business.
BUT, because the leaders invested so much in cultivating fear, and hate, and blame, bad things also began to happen within the stronger people. The leaders ignored the deterioration within their own towns and villages.
The leaders stopped taking care of their own ordinary people, and lent all their support to just a few families, that grew richer and richer and got lots and lots and lots of wealth. Soon there were just a very few people who could afford whatever they want, and much much much more than they could possibly need, while there were many, many people who couldn't afford a place to live. In fact, things got so bad, that many had to give up their cottage cheese and live in tents in the middle of their towns.
The entire fabric of this once strong society began to dissolve. The schools were overcrowded and teachers were underpaid, there was growing violence within the society, often against women and children. The social workers could barely make their own ends meet, and even the doctors could not handle the burdens placed upon them, and took to the streets calling for reform.
But the leaders remained steadfast! They did not cave in to these petty grievances, and they continued to support the very, very rich and to let the others fend for themselves, while continuing, of course, to stoke the fires of hate against the other people, across the way ...
The leaders now spent their time in the parliment drafting new bills and laws against the activists and groups who were calling for an end to the war and an end to the injustices. Instead of using their positions to devise ways in which people could easily afford cottage cheese, put money down on a home, and instead of supporting a social system that cared for the people who were not very very rich, they put all of their energies into creating a new, even more heinous enemy - left-wing peace and human rights activists.
And a great darkness and sadness covered the land...
This need not be the end of the story; indeed we are still in its middle. We have the power to give it a better ending.
Here is my idea for chapter three - we all join together in quest of kind, compassionate, thinking leaders, who can help create good lives for all, for the stronger and the other people, in towns and villages throughout the land. Let's bring in the Good Witch...
Ding, dong the witch is dead
Which old witch?
The wicked witch
Ding, dong the wicked witch is dead
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