Jamie, thank you for this cogent piece. Jefferson actually articulated a concrete vision for America as what he called A Commonwealth of Ward Republics (after the model of the decentralized, New England Township). It was opposed by Madison and Hamilton (argued mostly from Federalist Paper #10 and the fear of factions) who made the case for strong centralized federal government.
The amazing thing about Jefferson's vision is that it was a parallel one (more than 100 years earlier) to Mahatma Gandhi's vision for what he called a Commonwealth of Village Republics, or Sarvodaya. Gandhi's vision has already been implemented in Sri Lanka with the 65 year-old Sarvodaya Shramadana movement who have demonstrated that a horizontal network of 5,000 bioregional ecosystem networks (where ALL people can come together beyond any polarization) is doable.
The thing I have noticed about modern prescriptions for what ails us does not include reference to historical solutions. Many moderns and postmoderns seem to focus on the problems and not acknowledge the historical basis for all inclusive and comprehensive visions AND actual movements that give us a template so that we don't need too reinvent the wheel (no pun intended:_)
Add to this mix of solutions the Parallel Polis movements of Vaclav Benda in Czech in the 1970's and the Albanian parallel society movement in Kosovo in the 1990's that show how people can come together to build parallel society and economy movements.
I have launched a public conversation and campaign about building what I call symbiotic culture and a modern version of parallel society movements that focus on shared virtues in action - building local community networks around shared common needs such as around local food, energy, education, neighborhoods, spiritual and cultural needs, etc.
t seems like it is time for rolling up our sleeves and getting to the work of building such an alternative, beyond the battlefield of politics and religion, creating a new playing field where we can all benefit.
I am sharing that through posts and my recent book release here on Substack.
It may be Nature that begins to define the outcome here with a bio regionalism that recognizes the “commons” we all share while being “hillbillies” in our own hollers and watersheds. Always appreciate your lucid overviews Jamie, so damn refreshing - thank you. I wonder if our flags - like our Stars and Stripes - could begin to symbolize less about our military and more about our commitment to a reset on our values invited above. A “greening” that acknowledges our reverence above all to future generations. Indigenous people figured some of that out. Making more room to listen…
Always great to hear your thoughts on the state of things as they relate to the American experiment Jamie, Thank you! As an American expat living outside the US for the last thirteen years, I very much appreciate your insights and perspective as they paint a clearer picture from someone who takes the time to really understand all sides as much as possible. As a father and American I think a lot about moving back to the States, but since the pandemic and all of the crazy socio-political madness that is going on there right now, I am not convinced I would be doing my family any good. Encouraging Americans to get back to the Jeffersonian/Hamiltonian dialectic is certainly a great suggestion and one I think many Americans are ready to do, yet it seems that the current political landscape is set on self destruction as you say. Until there are more visual examples of both the left and the right coming together to save Americans and their not "free" ideals, I think I will stay put and watch from afar as to what the next few years will bring. It doesn't give me pleasure to see Americans suffering as they do, but a learning curve must take place if there is any hope left in that place. I still believe there is. I wish I could do more, but I am tied up abroad at the moment and my plate is full enough. Good luck out there Jamie! Your work is needed and appreciated!
When you classify the woke left you use the words far left. When you classify those on the right of the culture wars divide you use the anodyne words alternative right. Why the difference?
In my opinion there is no such thing as the far left in America.
How much actual political power does the amorphous dreaded woke actually have?
Do they have any deep pocket billionaires financing their activities, as do the alt-right via the Kochtopus for example and of course the Heritage (lies, lies and more lies) Foundation.
The dreaded woke have no central organizing body or indeed any one, more, or many authoritative movers and shakers.
Do the woke left really want to burn it all down?
It seems to me that what they are quite rightly doing is to challenge everyone to question the dominant narratives and lies upon which America (in particular).
It is an indisputable fact that America (in particular) was founded on religious lies, political exploitation, and manipulative propaganda of all kinds.
Massive theft of land and murder of the "Indians". Massive de-humanizing slavery which involved both the bodily and soul murder of the slaves.
All of that is still lingering in and affecting the collective psyche of Americans.
the difference between the 'woke left and MAGA movement is that the wl is built on an incredibly strong foundation of survival and livelihood built under the most extreme oppression we've* [ever known?] We because we are all humans. The beauty and sophistication of the movement for liberation cannot be compared to protectionism.
Lots to think about here. I'm no expert on the Jefferson/Hamilton dialectic, but while I was reading I kept thinking about Mutual Aid as it sprang up during the pandemic, and about a rural agricultural community I lived in for a few years, or small island communities near where I live now where people really do look out for each other whether it be because someone is sick or because they share farm equipment, because small farmers often can't afford all the equipment or repairs required. They share skills learned along the way and keep a low profile so as not to draw the attention of county authorities for using gray water on plants (for example). I discovered that there were lots of old-timers who lived there - tucked away, precisely because they wanted to live where they could be largely invisible. You can count on them though to bend over backwards to help you out if they think you're honest and mind your own business.
My home in the city was a drop site for a community supported agriculture farm back in the early days - late 80's and even then, it automatically created community around it. People met while picking up veggies. They traded chard or kale (because no one knew what to do with them yet then) and often left some behind which ended up in my refrigerator.
When my oldest was writing her thesis about sustainable fisheries, she had a lot to say about the commons - because, well, the ocean... Now, almost 15 years later, she still works in marine conservation - building community around common needs.
It turns out that people generally like to build community based on shared needs and values.
"Think Globally Act Hillbilly" depends on how one thinks and acts, which affects both spheres. Oh, "The Varieties of Thinking and Acting Experience." Fossil Capitalism has made memetic warfare all the more destructive while creating wealth, lots of people, and cool stuff. Humpty Dumpty (the teetering idea man, always on the cusp of disaster) is constantly evolving, never broken, and can't be put back together because of the push-pull of creative/destructive aspects of the interplay between the laws of the Universe, consciousness, culture, and mind. (And we hardly know what we are talking about.) As we think of America's mythological/historical narratives in the context of a global scale on a longer timeline, I hear echoes of "The Lucifer Principle." Circumstances will dictate the manner of seemingly controlled panic we get on with day after day while we all play our parts in various superorganisms we know as culture. There never was an ideal to rebuild or revisit, only a particular set of ideas we've been pondering reasonably mindlessly for thousands of years with their slightly evolving narratives that shed light on the positive and negative attributes of our experience. A tiny fraction of people ride the infinite game train of thought. We transcend nothing. The Universe holds fast. Our species was always falling—fallen—and it all feels quite profound while we live.
Jamie, thank you for this cogent piece. Jefferson actually articulated a concrete vision for America as what he called A Commonwealth of Ward Republics (after the model of the decentralized, New England Township). It was opposed by Madison and Hamilton (argued mostly from Federalist Paper #10 and the fear of factions) who made the case for strong centralized federal government.
The amazing thing about Jefferson's vision is that it was a parallel one (more than 100 years earlier) to Mahatma Gandhi's vision for what he called a Commonwealth of Village Republics, or Sarvodaya. Gandhi's vision has already been implemented in Sri Lanka with the 65 year-old Sarvodaya Shramadana movement who have demonstrated that a horizontal network of 5,000 bioregional ecosystem networks (where ALL people can come together beyond any polarization) is doable.
The thing I have noticed about modern prescriptions for what ails us does not include reference to historical solutions. Many moderns and postmoderns seem to focus on the problems and not acknowledge the historical basis for all inclusive and comprehensive visions AND actual movements that give us a template so that we don't need too reinvent the wheel (no pun intended:_)
Add to this mix of solutions the Parallel Polis movements of Vaclav Benda in Czech in the 1970's and the Albanian parallel society movement in Kosovo in the 1990's that show how people can come together to build parallel society and economy movements.
I have launched a public conversation and campaign about building what I call symbiotic culture and a modern version of parallel society movements that focus on shared virtues in action - building local community networks around shared common needs such as around local food, energy, education, neighborhoods, spiritual and cultural needs, etc.
t seems like it is time for rolling up our sleeves and getting to the work of building such an alternative, beyond the battlefield of politics and religion, creating a new playing field where we can all benefit.
I am sharing that through posts and my recent book release here on Substack.
Would you join me in such a conversation?
It may be Nature that begins to define the outcome here with a bio regionalism that recognizes the “commons” we all share while being “hillbillies” in our own hollers and watersheds. Always appreciate your lucid overviews Jamie, so damn refreshing - thank you. I wonder if our flags - like our Stars and Stripes - could begin to symbolize less about our military and more about our commitment to a reset on our values invited above. A “greening” that acknowledges our reverence above all to future generations. Indigenous people figured some of that out. Making more room to listen…
Always great to hear your thoughts on the state of things as they relate to the American experiment Jamie, Thank you! As an American expat living outside the US for the last thirteen years, I very much appreciate your insights and perspective as they paint a clearer picture from someone who takes the time to really understand all sides as much as possible. As a father and American I think a lot about moving back to the States, but since the pandemic and all of the crazy socio-political madness that is going on there right now, I am not convinced I would be doing my family any good. Encouraging Americans to get back to the Jeffersonian/Hamiltonian dialectic is certainly a great suggestion and one I think many Americans are ready to do, yet it seems that the current political landscape is set on self destruction as you say. Until there are more visual examples of both the left and the right coming together to save Americans and their not "free" ideals, I think I will stay put and watch from afar as to what the next few years will bring. It doesn't give me pleasure to see Americans suffering as they do, but a learning curve must take place if there is any hope left in that place. I still believe there is. I wish I could do more, but I am tied up abroad at the moment and my plate is full enough. Good luck out there Jamie! Your work is needed and appreciated!
When you classify the woke left you use the words far left. When you classify those on the right of the culture wars divide you use the anodyne words alternative right. Why the difference?
In my opinion there is no such thing as the far left in America.
How much actual political power does the amorphous dreaded woke actually have?
Do they have any deep pocket billionaires financing their activities, as do the alt-right via the Kochtopus for example and of course the Heritage (lies, lies and more lies) Foundation.
The dreaded woke have no central organizing body or indeed any one, more, or many authoritative movers and shakers.
Do the woke left really want to burn it all down?
It seems to me that what they are quite rightly doing is to challenge everyone to question the dominant narratives and lies upon which America (in particular).
It is an indisputable fact that America (in particular) was founded on religious lies, political exploitation, and manipulative propaganda of all kinds.
Massive theft of land and murder of the "Indians". Massive de-humanizing slavery which involved both the bodily and soul murder of the slaves.
All of that is still lingering in and affecting the collective psyche of Americans.
the difference between the 'woke left and MAGA movement is that the wl is built on an incredibly strong foundation of survival and livelihood built under the most extreme oppression we've* [ever known?] We because we are all humans. The beauty and sophistication of the movement for liberation cannot be compared to protectionism.
Lots to think about here. I'm no expert on the Jefferson/Hamilton dialectic, but while I was reading I kept thinking about Mutual Aid as it sprang up during the pandemic, and about a rural agricultural community I lived in for a few years, or small island communities near where I live now where people really do look out for each other whether it be because someone is sick or because they share farm equipment, because small farmers often can't afford all the equipment or repairs required. They share skills learned along the way and keep a low profile so as not to draw the attention of county authorities for using gray water on plants (for example). I discovered that there were lots of old-timers who lived there - tucked away, precisely because they wanted to live where they could be largely invisible. You can count on them though to bend over backwards to help you out if they think you're honest and mind your own business.
My home in the city was a drop site for a community supported agriculture farm back in the early days - late 80's and even then, it automatically created community around it. People met while picking up veggies. They traded chard or kale (because no one knew what to do with them yet then) and often left some behind which ended up in my refrigerator.
When my oldest was writing her thesis about sustainable fisheries, she had a lot to say about the commons - because, well, the ocean... Now, almost 15 years later, she still works in marine conservation - building community around common needs.
It turns out that people generally like to build community based on shared needs and values.
"Think Globally Act Hillbilly" depends on how one thinks and acts, which affects both spheres. Oh, "The Varieties of Thinking and Acting Experience." Fossil Capitalism has made memetic warfare all the more destructive while creating wealth, lots of people, and cool stuff. Humpty Dumpty (the teetering idea man, always on the cusp of disaster) is constantly evolving, never broken, and can't be put back together because of the push-pull of creative/destructive aspects of the interplay between the laws of the Universe, consciousness, culture, and mind. (And we hardly know what we are talking about.) As we think of America's mythological/historical narratives in the context of a global scale on a longer timeline, I hear echoes of "The Lucifer Principle." Circumstances will dictate the manner of seemingly controlled panic we get on with day after day while we all play our parts in various superorganisms we know as culture. There never was an ideal to rebuild or revisit, only a particular set of ideas we've been pondering reasonably mindlessly for thousands of years with their slightly evolving narratives that shed light on the positive and negative attributes of our experience. A tiny fraction of people ride the infinite game train of thought. We transcend nothing. The Universe holds fast. Our species was always falling—fallen—and it all feels quite profound while we live.
"Not forever does the bulbul sing
In balmy shades of bowers,
Not forever lasts the spring
Nor ever blossom the flowers.
Not forever reigneth joy,
Sets the sun on days of bliss,
Friendships not forever last,
They know not life, who know not this."
― Khushwant Singh, Train to Pakistan
Great piece!
Excellent piece. Thanks, Jamie.
This is wonderful stuff, Jamie! Thank you!