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This site is a member of WebRing. To browse visit here. Monday, December 29, 2008 Random thoughts I'm supposed to be uploading all the work I've done in the last three weeks, not ruminating about survivalist topics. So this may be a bit disjointed, as I hop back and forth from scanning forms, to uploading images, to the blog.I'm more selective about bringing up future bad times than I used to be. I'm tired of being fluffed off, for one thing. But it's also depressing to keep getting responses like, "The government won't let anything bad happen," or "Someone will come up with a new technology," or "Offshore oil drilling will solve the problems if you liberals will just let us do it." Or a blank horrified stare, and then, "But--but--what are we going to DO? We can't just completely change how we live!"The first three are head-in-the-sand attitudes, nothing I can do much about. But I'm sensitive to the last one, because I don't know what I'd do either if I lived in a suburban house with three kids, a corporate job that was barely paying the bills, and a spouse who laughed at the idea of coming troubles. Or, for that matter, a big-city apartment with zero space to store anything beyond the most basic necessities, much less a year's worth of food and water.The changes we've seen over the last couple of generations have made it much more difficult for a person or family to go back to earlier ways of living. Not impossible, but it takes financial resources, agreement on what changes to make, and the courage to turn your back on everything you've worked for so far. Those are big steps to take for a family that's locked into the "American dream."Sharon Astyk addressed the question in a much articulate way than I've done, in her December 26 blog post:Once we accustom ourselves to the new level of technology, it gets harder and harder to go back to the past. If we do, we must accept the accusation that we are failing in some way, to live in the present. And there’s a truth in that - because in our society, the present is never “now” it is “what’s new” - and the only way to ever live there is to keep rushing forward, keep unfitting yourself for the now in favor of the future, to always be waiting for the next step.That last phrase, "to keep unfitting yourself for the now in favor of the future," really stuck in my mind. The story of society may be not what we've accomplished, but what we've given up. Languages, skills, artforms, relationships, family and societal structures--lost entirely, or altered to fit into places they were never meant for. "That's progress," goes the old refrain. But progress suggests a goal, an endpoint, or at least some shared vision of where we're going. That's what we've lost, as much as anything else. We don't know where we're going. We're just running as fast as we can to get there, wherever "there" is.I think "there" is the edge of a cliff, and the shared vision is going to be that last glimpse of the rocks at the bottom. posted by Liz @ 9:19 PM | The template is set to display 10 posts. To see all the posts for this month, click on the month name in the Archive section RSS Feed PERSONAL Send email toliz at life-as-a-spectator-sport.com Home I'm a mother, grandmother, a computer professional, Democrat, Christian. I welcome politely worded comments and email, my spam filter throws the rest away, so don't bother to flame me WHY 'LIFE AS A SPECTATOR SPORT' "If you're lucky not to live in the gutters of a slum, but still can't afford to take vacations in the Alps, you're part of that enormous middle class who lives life through the medium of the television, further separated from "real" life by air conditioner, by automobile, by dishwasher, microwave and ice-in-the-door refrigerator, by automatic washer and dryer, and all the other appliances and conveniences that make it possible for America to live life at second hand. I'm not sure why Americans decided that televised drama was better than the real thing, that cardboard microwave food containers were an adequate substitute for real dishes, and their contents for real food, or that cooking, dishwashing and face-to-face conversation wasn't worth the effort and time it required. Someone fed this nation a plastic crate of out-of-season tomatoes and told us it was life and we took them at their word, and we're so much the poorer for it that it's hard to know where to start to list the shortcomings." I wrote this a couple of years ago, but I have to admit it's much less amusing than I thought it would be to see the artifical construct falling apart. THE NON-ELECTRIC HOME Cleaning, 1 Cleaning, 2 Cleaning, 3 KNITTING BLOGS Extravayarnza Knitting Heretic Mind of Winter Pie Knits Persistent Illusion See Eunny Knit The Keyboard Biologist Taleweaver's Ramblings TECHnitting Wendy Knits FINISHED PROJECTS -------FINISHED IN 2006------- Peruvian Cap Tutti-Frutti Socks Shelley's Socks Carol's Socks -------FINISHED IN 2007------- Chain Link Socks Baby Surprise Jacket Valerie & Friend Baby Bonnet Rainbow Baby Socks Girls Pixie Hood Mitred Square Heart Red & White Socks Coffee Cup Pot Holder Nubbins Dishcloth Garterlac Dishcloth Suede Booties Kate's Socks Norwegian Sweet Baby Cap Half Thumbless Mittens Red Mittens for Akkol -------FINISHED IN 2008------- SELF-RELIANCE AND THE FUTURE -- Blogs and websites -- Causubon's Book Club Orlov Food Storage Made Easy From the Wilderness In the Wake Listening to Katrina Survival Topics The Modern Homestead The Oil Drum Notes from a Hillside Farm -- Mailing Lists -- 12vdc Power Living on the Land Rainwater Refrigeration Alternatives Old Ways of Living POLITICAL BLOGS and SITES The political sites have moved BOOKS I'M READING How to Grow More Vegetables, etc. Small Scale Grain Raising ARCHIVES February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 August 2008 July 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 February 2002 Feedjit Live Blog Stats
I'm supposed to be uploading all the work I've done in the last three weeks, not ruminating about survivalist topics. So this may be a bit disjointed, as I hop back and forth from scanning forms, to uploading images, to the blog.I'm more selective about bringing up future bad times than I used to be. I'm tired of being fluffed off, for one thing. But it's also depressing to keep getting responses like, "The government won't let anything bad happen," or "Someone will come up with a new technology," or "Offshore oil drilling will solve the problems if you liberals will just let us do it." Or a blank horrified stare, and then, "But--but--what are we going to DO? We can't just completely change how we live!"The first three are head-in-the-sand attitudes, nothing I can do much about. But I'm sensitive to the last one, because I don't know what I'd do either if I lived in a suburban house with three kids, a corporate job that was barely paying the bills, and a spouse who laughed at the idea of coming troubles. Or, for that matter, a big-city apartment with zero space to store anything beyond the most basic necessities, much less a year's worth of food and water.The changes we've seen over the last couple of generations have made it much more difficult for a person or family to go back to earlier ways of living. Not impossible, but it takes financial resources, agreement on what changes to make, and the courage to turn your back on everything you've worked for so far. Those are big steps to take for a family that's locked into the "American dream."Sharon Astyk addressed the question in a much articulate way than I've done, in her December 26 blog post:Once we accustom ourselves to the new level of technology, it gets harder and harder to go back to the past. If we do, we must accept the accusation that we are failing in some way, to live in the present. And there’s a truth in that - because in our society, the present is never “now” it is “what’s new” - and the only way to ever live there is to keep rushing forward, keep unfitting yourself for the now in favor of the future, to always be waiting for the next step.That last phrase, "to keep unfitting yourself for the now in favor of the future," really stuck in my mind. The story of society may be not what we've accomplished, but what we've given up. Languages, skills, artforms, relationships, family and societal structures--lost entirely, or altered to fit into places they were never meant for. "That's progress," goes the old refrain. But progress suggests a goal, an endpoint, or at least some shared vision of where we're going. That's what we've lost, as much as anything else. We don't know where we're going. We're just running as fast as we can to get there, wherever "there" is.I think "there" is the edge of a cliff, and the shared vision is going to be that last glimpse of the rocks at the bottom.
Once we accustom ourselves to the new level of technology, it gets harder and harder to go back to the past. If we do, we must accept the accusation that we are failing in some way, to live in the present. And there’s a truth in that - because in our society, the present is never “now” it is “what’s new” - and the only way to ever live there is to keep rushing forward, keep unfitting yourself for the now in favor of the future, to always be waiting for the next step.
The template is set to display 10 posts. To see all the posts for this month, click on the month name in the Archive section
RSS Feed
PERSONAL
WHY 'LIFE AS A SPECTATOR SPORT'
"If you're lucky not to live in the gutters of a slum, but still can't afford to take vacations in the Alps, you're part of that enormous middle class who lives life through the medium of the television, further separated from "real" life by air conditioner, by automobile, by dishwasher, microwave and ice-in-the-door refrigerator, by automatic washer and dryer, and all the other appliances and conveniences that make it possible for America to live life at second hand. I'm not sure why Americans decided that televised drama was better than the real thing, that cardboard microwave food containers were an adequate substitute for real dishes, and their contents for real food, or that cooking, dishwashing and face-to-face conversation wasn't worth the effort and time it required. Someone fed this nation a plastic crate of out-of-season tomatoes and told us it was life and we took them at their word, and we're so much the poorer for it that it's hard to know where to start to list the shortcomings." I wrote this a couple of years ago, but I have to admit it's much less amusing than I thought it would be to see the artifical construct falling apart.
THE NON-ELECTRIC HOME
Cleaning, 1 Cleaning, 2 Cleaning, 3
KNITTING BLOGS
Extravayarnza Knitting Heretic Mind of Winter Pie Knits Persistent Illusion See Eunny Knit The Keyboard Biologist Taleweaver's Ramblings TECHnitting Wendy Knits
FINISHED PROJECTS
SELF-RELIANCE AND THE FUTURE
POLITICAL BLOGS and SITES
BOOKS I'M READING
How to Grow More Vegetables, etc. Small Scale Grain Raising
ARCHIVES
February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 August 2008 July 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 February 2002
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