Last night PBS aired a National Geographic special, "Quest for the Lost Maya." It is the story of a previously known and poorly understood "northern suburb," if you will, on the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. It is the story of a civilization that thrived for over 1500 years in a region without any source of water other than rain. It is the story of a civilization that appears to have possessed both wealth and a middle class.
The mystery revolves around the fact that this civilization, this northern outpost of the Maya, was previously under estimated in its capabilities and sophistication-- a poor stepchild of the more famous southern civilization. It is also a mystery as to why it so suddenly disappeared. The entire region appears to have packed up and left; but left with the intention of returning.
This is not the story of alien abduction. This appears to be the story of what happens when religious fanaticism infects politics and the devastating consequences on governance and society.
There are several reasons anyone would enjoy this beautiful story. There are a few very pointed reasons several of our fundamentalist leaning candidates for elected office should be required to watch. Then again, I suppose they would attribute the demise of the Maya to a failure to give the "One True God" place-- a lack of Christian principles.
What the hell, they probably had it coming. Surely we can do better than a bunch of dumb old Mexicans. Then again, I guess we'll know in about 1250 years.
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