Standing Before White House Ruins

What remains when a civilization stops building together.

White House Ruins, Canyon de Chelly

Standing before the White House Ruins in Canyon de Chelly, I couldn’t help but wonder what the people who built this place believed about their future. Did they imagine their children would always live here? Did they believe what they had created would endure?

We have accumulated more wealth than any civilization in history, yet millions wonder whether they’ll ever own a home, retire with dignity, or leave their children a better life.

We measure the stock market to the decimal point, but we’ve stopped measuring whether people feel they belong to one another.

Something is disappearing. I don’t think it’s just the middle class. I think it’s our sense that we are building this country together.

Every civilization eventually faces a choice. Does it use its wealth to strengthen the bonds between its people, or does wealth become an end in itself? History is filled with societies that became extraordinarily powerful. It is also filled with societies that believed prosperity alone would guarantee their future.

Looking at these ruins, I don’t wonder what they built.

I wonder what they stopped building together.