Page 102 - KCN 2020

Reconstruction

Jo Fizzy

Kintsugi is the Japanese art of mending broken pottery by filling the broken areas
with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver or platinum. The cracks and flaws
in the pottery can therefore be seen clearly and even illuminate the piece. In this ancient art,
breakage and repair is considered the history of an object. Rather than hiding it, or disguising
it, kintsugi embraces the flaws of the pottery, and even highlights them.
The same philosophy applies when it comes to the flaws we all have as humans. We
are prone to making mistakes, and vulnerable to the darker sides of ourselves. However, flaws
are unavoidable. In fact, they make us who we are, when we grow from them and become a
better person, learning from them, thus never repeating our past mistakes. Reconstruction
is a vital part of life. To fall down is never something to be ashamed of; in fact, we should be
proud because we stood up again. Raise what has fallen, fix what has been broken, and do not
ever be ashamed of it. As you learn from your mistakes, your previous flaws, now newfound
wisdom, will shine through and illuminate you like how the golden cracks in kintsugi pottery
shine.

Reconstruction is the art of rebuilding an object or event that has been destroyed or
damaged. As a part of a natural, or mortal world, everything has a risk of being damaged, of
being torn apart and destroyed, whether physically, mentally or emotionally. And so the art
of reconstruction can be applied to everything, be it a broken armchair, the crumbling econ-
omy, or a heart that has shattered.

During the American Civil War, the Confederate States of America was destroyed
completely. The remaining population shared what was left of their insufficient crops, and
people only possessed worthless Confederate currency. Local governments were in disorder
and confusion, and the South was in great need of reconstruction. Their period of rebuild-
ing and reconstruction lasted from 1865 to 1877, and it greatly assisted the South. Soon, they
were on the road to being part of the Union once more.

The Reconstruction enabled the formation of new governments. The first state to be
readmitted to the Union was Tennessee in 1866; the last, Georgia, in 1870. The Union gave
the South great support during the Reconstruction. They rebuilt roads, got farms running
again, and built schools for poor and African-American children. Eventually the economy in
the South began to recover.

That is a prime example of reconstruction in terms of physical, real events that
happened in history. As seen in full clarity, reconstruction is of the utmost importance
when it comes to helping a country grow by learning from its past mistakes. If we were to
describe it in another way, for example through the art of kintsugi, reconstruction is a vital
part of formation.

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