Anthropologists cite gatherings at the communal hearth as among the first milestones in the development of civilization. Anti would like to take us back further than that.
The harnessing of fire was among the very earliest and most fundamental developments on the path to human civilization. The hearth, in the woods, and in caves, gave early man heat and light, a way to cook (and therefore sterilize) food, and kept would-be predators at bay.
Fire was vital to basic needs. The social aspects of a warm, crackling fire, were equally vital to communal progress. The fire pit is where ancient peoples met in the evening. At tribal gatherings from the days of the cave-dwellers for millennia onward, men and women related the experiences of the day and told stories of their ancestors that had been passed down from generation to generation, by those long gone who had gathered around similar fire pits.
Bonds between individuals were nurtured and strengthened, music was made, and plans for the future were discussed. To this day the glow of a backyard bonfire beckons to our very soul. Neighbors instinctively drop by to enjoy the warmth, friends are invited over, music still is made, and as ever thoughts are shared and stories are told, as laughter echoes through the smoke.
It’s impossible to understand the mindset of this article’s author (article link below) who would put a swift end to these gatherings. Her frantic and completely baseless claims of health hazards due to supposedly toxic emissions actually spring from a demented, anti-social disorder that has become all too common today.
The author, a realtor, cites a litany of paranoid factoids but no genuine basis for her outrageous claims (including this knee-slapper: “burning wood is an addiction”) because there is none. Her diatribe was taken directly from the anti-smoking script. She simply substituted the term “wood smoke” for “second-hand smoke”.
Her self-described “reactive airways” condition, likely psychosomatic, prevents her from enjoying the social benefits of gathering around the hearth with family and friends, and that is truly sad. Sadder still is that she would selfishly and gleefully take these good times away from all of us based on her rare aversion, but that is the classic Anti attitude, “If I can’t enjoy it, or I don’t approve of it, it must be banned.”
Naïve readers might think all this talk of banning recreational fires is ridiculous and will never gain any traction but this anti-wood burning commentary was published by a major media outlet in a major metropolitan area with no questions asked concerning the purported health hazards. Consider the success of fanatical anti-smoking, and realize, nothing is too crazy for today’s technocrats.
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