Families, Like Earthen-Filled Dams, are Vulnerable to the Waves of the World that Seek to Destroy Peace
The earthen-filled dam is a cost effective method of preserving spring runoff for use during the hot summer days. Without it there would be no crops in the deserts of the earth. Relatively inexpensive to build when compared to the over-engineered concrete structures that hold back massive river flows, these irrigation reservoirs dot the countryside of the farming communities of the world. Early spring rains sustain the young crops naturally, but just as the peak demand for moisture is reached the rain stops abruptly. Within days the crop is lost to the dry hot sun if not irrigated.
These simple dams are nothing more than a lot of dirt placed in a narrow portion of a stream bed that holds back the spring runoff for later use. The original design was by dumb luck. Failures inspired improvements. Today there are extensive calculations as to how much fill is required to retain a given quantity of water. We’re talking millions of cubic feet of water here, the force of which is devastating if released at once. Taking one of the most powerful forces of nature and messing with it isn’t a joke. Thousands of lives have been lost, along with untold property damage, due to the uncontrolled failure of these simple structures. The danger with the earthen filled dam lies in the inability to detect failure in advance. Once moisture is detected on the outer surface it is generally too late.
Water is a strange beast. Slowly and persistently it finds its way through anything. It never sleeps. If it permeates the dirt it is only a matter of time until the very dam saturates, and its restricting power converts to destruction as the structure liquefies. Rushing downstream, this once sturdy structure wipes out everything in its path. Fast and violent, it is over in an instant. Nothing can hold back the energy once it has been released. In moments, lives are dramatically changed forever.
History shows that attempts to save the structure are futile once moisture has made it through the mass. The source of the catastrophe lies just beneath the surface. It is real and serious. Once the first signs are detected, the safety and preservation of life is the sole business. The outcome is inevitable: the structure and downstream properties are gone. It’s a matter of time. Reading the signs saves lives.
In today’s “advanced” society, the family, like the earthen-filled dam, is vulnerable to small, seemingly insignificant adjustments to time-proven virtues. Promoted by popular opinion through a vast array of media and technology, such propaganda erodes the foundation of commitment, courage and resilience upon which strong families have always existed. As society’s oldest institution, the family preserves and promotes the values that build individual character, which in turn build nations. We must recognize the signs that show structural damage to this unit.
Value-rich children have the resilience to survive the environmental, economic, and technological upheavals that threaten to burst through the dams of propriety that have always kept evil out. Such children have families that will see the signs foretelling the forces that seek to destroy. Such children will stand strong and sure. Such children will seek for peace. Such children will change the world.
Originally posted on September 20, 2011 on www.childofvirtue.blogspot.com
