I decided to do a little more thinking and reading. Amazing guide, my mind. LOL

From The Comprachicos: Rand
Does a child conclude that the world is intelligible, and proceed to expand his understanding by the effort of conceptualizing on an ever-wider scale, with growing success and enjoyment? Or does he conclude that the world is a bewildering chaos, where the fact he grasped today is reversed tomorrow, where the more he sees the more helpless he becomes—and, consequently, does he retreat into the cellar of his own mind, locking its door? Does a child reach the stage of self-consciousness, i.e., does he grasp the distinction between consciousness and existence, between his mind and the outside world, which leads him to understand that the task of the first is to perceive the second, which leads to the development of his critical faculty and of control over his mental operations? Or does he remain in an indeterminate daze, never certain of whether he feels or perceives, of where one ends and the other begins, which leads him to feel trapped between two unintelligible states of flux: the chaos within and without? Does a child learn to identify, to categorize, to integrate his experiences and thus acquire the self-confidence needed to develop a long-range vision? Or does he learn to see nothing but the immediate moment and the feelings it produces, never venturing to look beyond it, never establishing any context but an emotional one, which leads him eventually to a stage where, under the pressure of any strong emotion, his mind disintegrates and reality vanishes?

And so cities disintegrate because minds are dis-integrated from the start.

I lived in Opelika 81/82.
Once outside of Auburn folks were downright respectable. Far enough from Montgomery, Birmingham and Atlanta.
Anyone who is directly, or by close proxy, tied to the land for their respective livelihood will be the safest folks to associate with. I have the best of the mix. East central Wi is a manufacturing, agricultural powerhouse. We have timber and mines, or access to mined materials, and a lot of "conversion" processes for just about any material necessary.

Our biggest worry is foraging from the cities when their shelves are empty. Ya see, we OWE "them" our obedient supplying. Lead can be "supplied" at our cost and food can be supplied with equitable trade. Slack bellies are best teachers.

Well, you are, however, right! I just moved out of my home into an apartment and today my apt mgr asked me if the kids across the hall were disturbing me. I said, 'No. I hope Fred's barking at his new squirrel friend in the tree outside our windows wasn't disturbing them. She nearly choked laughing. Seems there was a rumor around town that she was renting to felons! I assured her I'd be the last to know. I am a certified 'cliff dweller'. Mind my own business! But this crap the Dems are throwing at us needs to end. Now, they say the Military will all have to be vaxed! My husband was in the Army 20 years and he never took the flu vax. They put on his Army records that he was allergic to eggs. I don't know why t hey are making a big deal out of the fact the military will get the vax. They've always had various vaccinations.