Confluence

Things are changing. And when things change there is always backlash from those who would like nothing better than to maintain the status quo. It doesn't matter why they want to maintain it but the main reason I believe is fear. 

Fear that they will no longer be in charge.

Fear of the "other".

Fear of the unknown.

Or just plain cowardice. 

Whatever it is however produces a visceral response that flails about with whatever tool or weapon to hand screaming, NO!! NO CHANGE! NEVER!! Sometimes those weapons are literal weapons. Sometimes words. 

Sometimes laws and policies enacted by politicians so corroded with injustice they don't even know what side they're on because they can't see their own hypocrisy.

And that fear butts against the tide of those demanding justice and change and it produces conflict. 

Upheaval. 

Confluence.

In geography, a confluence occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); or where two streams meet to become the source of a river of a new name (such as the confluence of the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers at Pittsburgh, forming the Ohio); or where two separated channels of a river (forming a river island) rejoin at the downstream end. ~ Wikipedia

Confluence of the Bhagirathi and Alaknanda Rivers to produce the Ganges at Devprayag, India. 

At the point of confluence you get two powerhouses crashing together to the point where one might think the waters will not mix. The surface of the rivers can literally run parallel for a while with one river color refusing to merge with the other. 

Beneath the surface though, things are riled up. Things long buried are stirred from the muck. the currents swirl and the light becomes murky and dim. As the riverbed becomes slightly shallower, the conflict underneath shows on top with swirls and waves and whitecaps. River ships must be very careful in these places because debris from the bottom rise and sink, rise and sink; currents change as the silt and sand slide and shift creating eddies and lulls and unexpected shoves. 

It's a maelstrom. 

But eventually the rivers do merge. The currents calm and the river flows on more peacefully, becoming wider, becoming deeper. Becoming something new.

And we who survive the confluence we will give that river a new name.

Relevant Reading

Wikipedia Entry

Photograph by Mark A. Wilson