The Idea of Pre War

When I lived in NYC I thought that it was odd for prewar or postwar housing to refer to WWII since I was used to prewar and postwar buildings referring to the Civil War.  Overtime I have come to realize that the idea of time is relative in different parts of the United States. In Louisiana people commonly refer to things that have happened over the last 400+ years because so many people's families settled there in the late 1600's. 

Recently as I travel around Louisiana I find that people often refer to the religious wars of Europe between the Catholics and Protestants in the 1500's and 1600's as the reason for their family's immigration to the New World. They also speak about a cultural rift between the Catholics and Protestants in Louisiana up until the recent past.  This is something that I was not aware of growing up.  My grandmother was protestant and my grandfather was catholic and our neighborhood was a mixture of religions. I was not aware at the time that there were prejudices between those groups in North and South Louisiana. Enough people have mentioned this schism in the culture that I have started to ask people about it.

I am fairly familiar with the religious wars but had to do a little reading to remind myself of the exact time period that these wars were causing destruction and instability in Europe.  Many books have written and films have been made about these wars, one such film not so long ago was "Queen Margot" in 1994. In 2015 people in Louisiana are still talking and thinking about the effects of these wars that raged through Europe roughly 450 years.

People looking for all kinds of freedoms sought refuge in Louisiana.  Religious and economic freedom and freedom as individuals.  The world struggles with these same issues today: acceptance and respect for different religions and the value of individuals. Because of the histories of the various groups of people who settled in Louisiana: French, Spanish, freed slaves of African decent, Vietnamese, Lebanese, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Muslim and others looking for peace and freedom these ideas are very much alive today. Being discussed, being honored and sometimes still being an issue to overcome.