The Civil War vs. modern dialogue ... Have we lost anything?

[Ridgerunner]

I don’t think we’re less violent than those who lived at the time of the Civil War.

And I do think Church Soldier is right. We’re headed for a very violent time.

I don’t know that we’re less violent-minded. We’re just more timid to engage in it.

Iraq and Af/Pak are dangerous. Very dangerous. But not many, out of the huge numbers, actually get killed. Picture a Civil War battle in which men stood shoulder to shoulder and fired at each other fairly close together, with soft lead bullets that would deliver a fatal wound almost every time. And the camps were hardly better, with dystentery, smallpox and other diseases hanging over every man. And virtually every able-bodied man served in it.

But at the time, infant and child mortality were high. People fought Indians and outlaws without a whole lot of protection other than their own. Accidents were frequent and recoveries few. Your own horses could kill you in an instant or maim you for life for a moment’s inattention. There were wild animals that sometimes killed people right near their homes. There was the constant danger of deadly disease and starvation.

I think people took death more lightly then. They didn’t have a lot of choice in that. And I think they believed in God more than people do now and accepted Providence more than we do now.

And I think they were just more willing to face death when conflicts became intractable.

 

[M-Dent]

When comparing the Civil War (and the Revolutionary War) with peaceful dialogue about disagreements in modern times (e.g. between Republicans in Democrats), I think it’s pretty obvious that we are, overall, better off nowadays … that is not what this thread is about. Rather I want to ask the flip side: Have we lost anything? In other words, are there any ways in which the old (even violent) methods of resolving disagreements were better than our modern-day method (peaceful dialogue)?

Communication methods were a bit slower in the past. The age of instant communications gives less time to calm down and social media adds a lot more voices of agitation.