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11/13/2005
More About This Blog
This blog is really going to be about building community and healing people who are seventh generation members of our culture (everybody really). It's about the things that we are going to need to do to ourselves if we are to survive the coming crash of civilisation.
It's only possible for members of western civilisation to live such seperated lives because of the energy supplied by oil. It gives us our cars and our big houses and all those modern conveniences that make it possible for us to live three, two or even one to a house without having to do massive amounts of work to sustain the whole enterprise. We're entranced with our gadgets, flash cars and other ego extensions but we're also astoundingly wounded and alienated.
Our culture is so bad that people commit suicide just to escape it! We probably take this for granted but there are actually cultures where nobody does this. I imagine that this sorry state is going to be a major impediment to our survival. We will have to work together and form functioning comunities to cope with the changes ahead. We're no longer going to be able to walk out on our friends, jobs, marriages, towns or countries if we don't like how things are. We're no longer going to be able to insulate ourselves from everybody but our immediate nuclear family. We're gong to have to treat every relationship with people in our 'tribe' like people in a successful marriage treat the relationship with their spouse (it's an adventure honey).
We'll have to confront our differences and for 50% of the time we're going to find those difference are caused by a problem in us and then we're going to have to confront that problem. And we have lot's of problems. I doubt there has been a society in the history of the universe that is so messed up. It's not just good marketing that's selling prozac. A lot of people need it just to cope. Succesful communities are also going to be healing communites and will need to understand what our culture does that screws us up. I'll have a lot to say about that especially about around our obsession with control.
It may not be as hard as I make it sound, without all the artificial seperations our society currently creates (with disparities in wealth and status) a lot of tension will dissapear and frankly I can't wait. A lot of people are scared of what the crash will do but it could be the best thing that happens to us, especially those of us in McJobs and those of us with high stress paper shuffling jobs.
Even without a pending crash I wold still want to live in a village. Look at the insanity of our society. Right wing politicians regularly bang on about the sanctity of the family and the sanctity of marriage - holding up the nuclear family as some kind of ideal. All I can say is these guys must have stayed away from the house when the kids were still babies because the nuclear family is the biggest con around. Young parents, addled by lack of sleep struggle to cope with the stress during the most formative years of their children's lives while bored old people rot in rest homes down the road. Have you seen old people light up when a child enters the room? How much would you like a few spare mothers around the place? Yeah, I know, only if you could get on with them right?
The nuclear family is certainly better than solo parenting. But at it's best it can only ever be twice as good. Living in a village will be 100 times better for young families. Like the old saying says; It takes a village to raise a child.
09:55
Posted in Big Ideas
, General
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Comments
Everything was well written.Good blog.
Posted by: BOG | 01/22/2006
Hello Gumph ~ and "More About This Blog";
Ladies and Gentlemen;
I want to join the Village, go to the Village, live in the Village ~ but first I have to ask: Is there a Village ??
I've searched the internet looking for like minded people who are willing to work together. Are you those people??
Sincerely,
Ron
Posted by: Ron Allard | 02/01/2006
There will be a village, a real village not a virtual one, but rigth now it's all just a figment of my imagination
Posted by: Aaron | 02/01/2006
Until then, villages exist intentionally to varying degrees. Try www.ic.org
Posted by: eula | 02/15/2006
I've just found and am enjoying your blog. I want to read more of it, but try as I might, I'm just too sleepy at present. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I'll be back tomorrow with a fresh mind.
Posted by: sara | 03/24/2006
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