As the Rittenhouse trial goes into jury deliberations, Sean Sorrentino (host of the defunct Gun Blog Variety Cast), posted this question on FB:

One of my friends left a very good comment elsewhere…

“If he had stayed home, we wouldn’t be having this discussion. Minding your own business is a critical self-defense skill, yet no one teaches it.”

My question is: “This is good advice for the individual, but is it good advice for society?

I think this is a ramifications of some trends in America:
1. The transition from a high-trust society to a low-trust society
2. The increasing Balkanization among certain segments of the society, particularly the political extremes
3. The loss of influence of traditional institutions that promote mutual aid
4. The muddled definitions of what is expected among upstanding citizens – especially among the men

When we can’t trust strangers because they are outside of our tribe, when we consider those outside the tribe to be dangerous, when we no longer participate in organizations that foster goodwill and charity, and when we don’t have common principles to guide us through demanding times, is it any wonder that it may be preferable to just mind one’s own business?