The "Four Horsemen" of Division

When the end of the world is upon us, there are supposed to be four supernatural beings riding on horses to usher in the end of days.  One of them brings pestilence, which will be endless amounts of insects and creatures that bring ruin.  One will bring famine, which will be the end of all crops, foods, and consumables, causing hunger and starvation on a massive scale.  One will bring war, where battles will be fought between many people, causing destruction on a massive scale.  Lastly, one will bring death, which is pretty obvious, right?


This section is about another set of horsemen that I have heard about, experienced, or have seen first hand.   These horsemen bring about division.  Basically, they tend to be the catalysts of conflict between people.  It seems like, when you get to the guts of the situation, the heart of the matter, or the core of the problem, one of these are most likely the reason behind all the issues.  Now, I'm not saying they are the cause of all the problems in the world, or the only cause.  No, far from it.  I'm just pointing out how, oftentimes, when people have problems with each other, these usually seem like the driving factors.  That said, let's look at what these horsemen are.


Love (Eros)

Isn't it amazing how something as wonderful as love can be the cause of so many problems between people?  This is one of the ultimate forms of human bonding.  Love itself is the ultimate form of human connection.  It's scary, confusing, and even painful at times, but in the end, there's no feeling like it.  To be willing to give your all and then some for the sake of another person is a tremendous feeling.  I mean, you're willing even to give your body, mind, and soul to this person to the point of intercourse, and maybe even creating life through procreation.  It's a beautiful thing.  And yet, there's so much problems at times because of it, that, it is very divisive.  Romeo and Juliet were madly in love with each other, and their families hated each other to the point of a blood feud.  The Jets and the Sharks were two rival gangs and yet one of the members fell in love with the sister of another gang member.  In both cases, it ended in tragedy with the couples dying.  And what about Helen of Troy, the catalyst for the Trojan War?  It's insane what love can bring out of someone.  And, if you want to get current in a way, let's look at the many families that have split because two people were in love.  It is always for a variety of reasons, too:

-Sexuality (ex. families disowning children for "coming out")

-Race (ex. parents never approving of interracial marriages)

-Creed (ex. interfaith relationships enduring the stress of criticism)

-Financial situation (ex. the wealthy turning their noses up to a mate without that much money)

-How they met (ex. criticism over foreign brides/grooms, online dating)

-Past lovers (ex. Exes who refuse to move on, Baby Mama Drama)

-Parental Prejudice

and more.....

Usually, when two people meet and become a loving couple, it would be considered a happy occasion.  At least, that's what one would have hoped.   It's just amazing how many people would rather be unhappy with your happiness because of one reason or another, and would rather you be unhappy along with them



Money

It makes the world go round.  It's the thing people need.  It's also one of the key causes of problems in the world today.  Business deals become underhanded and cruel all for the sake of making more money.  Theft on a large or small scale becomes the poison of choice, just to maintain monetary gain or control.  Making money from foreign countries in a way have been the cause of wars over the years.  And the list goes on and on.  I could talk about the corporate bailouts of the past few years, the Enron scandal, Ponzi schemes, pyramid schemes, taxation on the classes in America, and then some, but the point is very clear.  In the end, it's never about having one's fair share.  It's about having more than enough and more on top of that.  The rich have to keep getting richer, despite the consequences.  Those who want money do some of the most heinous things on record.  All for that "mean green".  If you research it, you'll see just how far people will go for money and the division it has cost between people.  I mean, wow, I've seen child actors get robbed by their parents, and female singers fall out with their manager husbands.  It's sad but true.


Politics

 This is a big one.  This, in fact, is one of the bigger driving forces behind division in the world today.  One side wants governments to run one way.  One side wants government to run another way.  Either side will do whatever it takes to profess that to other countries, by takeovers or other forms of intervention.  Basically, the ideologies of one political entity becomes the point of contention with other people.  Yea, there are debates when there are elections.  But, how about when combat is the action taken?  Revolutions, political overthrows, mass murder, wars, endless conflicts that shape and re-shape the society it is steeped in, and the list goes on.  There have been revolutionary wars, civil wars, invasions, battles over natural resources, terrorism, chemical warfare, and so on.  And on a more peaceful front, there have been impeachments, government scandals, government shutdowns, heated debates, and so on.  The funniest thing I find about politics is how much the conflicting sides either agree with each other or sound the same.  I guess it's all a battle to be right as opposed to wrong.


Religion

Now, this one may be as big, if not bigger than politics.  One's faith in a power greater than one's self is not something to be judged, really.  But, when it comes to how that faith is instituted, there's always contention.  Christians have been judged.  Jews have been judged.  Muslims have been judged.  Buddhists have been judged.  The list goes on.  One religion has a beef with another and all bets are off.  Wars have been fought over religion.  Conflicts continue to this day due to religion.  Ideologies differ, and that's ok.  But, when peace is not promoted over the sake of religion, chaos ensues.  Then, when does it become fanaticism or zealotry?  In the end, it's all based on the person's  interpretation of the faith they are given and whether or not they can believe in co-existence.  Sadly, not many humans can let their minds open to co-existence.  I used to be very, very judgmental over religions and beliefs.  Now, I leave well enough alone.  Thankfully, no one has come to me to battle me on my beliefs.  But, I won't back down if I'm challenged.  However, I won't go overboard and use my religious beliefs as a weapon.  I'm sure that's not what was intended.




There are many other factors that have caused division in our world today.  Prejudice is a telling factor, to be sure, and can be seen as a fifth horseman.  However, it ends up being the by-product of division and conflict.  There's also sub-divisions of each or other things like racism, culture clashes, and whatnot.


I just want to point out that I'm not authority on any of these topics...er, "horsemen".  I wanted to write about how these have caused great division in our world today.  The world isn't perfect, I know.  And, it will never be.  But, do we have to have our way all the time?  Always have our cake and eat it, too?  Is co-existence so hard that conflict must endure?


Can't we all just get along?