Wendell Berry in Fatal Harvest writes of the needs of our industrial economy. He begins, "One of the primary results -- and one of the primary needs -- of industrialism is the separation of people and places and products from their histories. To the extent that we participate in the industrial economy, we do not know the histories of our families or of our habitats or of our meals,"(7). The underlying assumption is that if and when people are reconnected with the culture of their stuff and themselves, they will reject the industrial model in favor of a more culturally relevant one. But this picture is too simple. We must recognize the source of our problems is both systemic and personal.
Our lives have become crowded and convoluted with competing ideologies of what exactly we want from our economies, our governments, our communities, and ourselves. We leave behind tolerance and rationality in favor of convenient results. When was the last time we worked together to make our lives better? When was the last time our leaders in education, government, business, etc. ever worked with the consumers, the lay people, the followers to develop their own opinions of leadership. We cannot deny that our lives are enriched and threatened by our connections to the systems surrounding us. What we must seek is balance.
Americans stand on the streets of chaotic cities. Built on the dreams of our past we are confronted everyday with what the American dream has developed into. What it has become is a city designed not by the imagination of you and your neighbor but by our reclusive leadership. Our streets are lined by tortured trees and shrubs and alien buildings. Our culture has become a pattern of irrational consumption and anonymity from history. And our problems are deeper than bank bailouts or healthcare reform. The inevitable problems and inevitable solutions lie with each one of us. Each and every system making up the American infrastructure is a mere tools for the operation of an agenda: growth and profit. Those same problems and solutions are a result of the inevitable conflict between the American dream of individual wealth and the common dreams of peace and security, and equal opportunity, and meaningful participation in our society. What each individual needs to do is understand our liberation our success our survival lies with the integration of individuals to communities dedicated to a better life not an easier life.
The redesign of our cities will not be easy. We will have to temper our reliance on the industrial perspective of standardization and instead invest in individual expression and culture as assets to the public instead of a threat to the private businesses. It is for each and every political, social, and economic stripe to realize industrialism isn't going anywhere but neither is ecological sustainability, agrarianism, socialism, etc. Fortunately for us though we are going somewhere.
Following our dreams above the dim of the city streets, we will reach our lofty dreams. By the embrace of the leader below you instead of by the death of the follower above you, we will build a new and better American reality. Borne upon the backs of our country's history, our American dream is an American future where we do not turn to fear in the times of crisis but our hearts and minds. What dreams may come.
"The strength we need will not come from the White House, but from every house in America."
-Jimmy Carter, 'Crisis of Confidence'
Jeez deeb!
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