Great read with some sobering/terrifying and hopeful/inspiring observations as always. Having left Australia some 30 years ago, I now reflect on the draw of the otherworld from my roots in the 70's 80's Ozzie "mongerels are the guys you want on your footy team" to the now, little carbon copy of the American dream. Heading home from Europe annually over 30 years, I always felt like a stranger/observer as I noted with interest and horror at the shift away from Australian European roots. A shift to the material, a shift away from community, a shift to citizen police keeping neighbours to account, a shift away from street cricket and footy and a shift to USA inspired ambulance chasing lawyers reminding the rough and tumble ozzie that if they stubbed their toe, then it was someone else's fault!! I found a new home after years in France, Italy, UK, the USA, and Turkey, and note that your Trek in the Tramontana is in my backyard in Mallorca. Europeans certainly have the patent on being not doing. In this realm, I find myself most at peace and connected to a community of neighbours, local farmers markets, medieval festivals, spiritual pilgrimage, coupled with a deep appreciation of what came before. The centuries ancient stone pathways of the Tramontana now bring me the solace that the goatly headland walks of Byron Bay once offered when I stomped that ground with my grandfather. The sadness that lies in my heart is that the ways of the aboriginal and subsequent European introduced culture can barely be felt in the bustle of the instafamous town of Byron these days, yet in Europe these clever peoples uphold tradition and pay homage to their ancestry by making the being far more valuable than the doing. A balance of these two is certainly required to thrive. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this Jamie as it really has brought much sense to my gravitation to where I feel most at home these days.
I do wonder, and positing a reflection, that when I have a dream, whilst I’m in that dream it might appear to be real, but when I awake, I can tell the difference between a dream and reality. I’m curious as to why ‘The American Dream’, is still used in some small way as a kind of building block or at least vision to build an American way of life. I’m not being flippant, as always I think your writing and thoughts going back to Stealing Fire are always on point (IMO), and not being an American myself I only have a very limited understanding of the American dream and way of life. At the same time, as you say Europe has been through two world wars, America in its present form is very young in comparison, you mention words to the effect of ‘adolescent young child’ metaphorically speaking, which I agree with, perhaps the very building blocks of ‘The American Dream’ need to be re thought? Yes Europe has its issues, politically speaking a fair few far right extreme dictators for instance and at the same time, as you say, because for centuries Europe has ‘had’ to work together it’s forced the issue. It might not be perfect, nothing is right, but at least it’s built on years of history, of accepting difference (though currently that’s under threat at times). I guess what I’m coming round to saying is perhaps the very foundations of ‘The American Dream’ need to be reconsidered? And this isn’t even touching on modern technology, social media platforms, truth/non truth, media outlets etc which is a whole other subject matter but at the same time has huge implications to the current landscape. Looking across the pond trying to figure out just how America is in the state it is in at the moment, and I can’t help but think and ponder that it’s in part to do with the very foundations with which America was built on, it’s very confusing and as always I appreciate your thoughts and writings on this subject matter and others. 👍
Beautiful and thoughtful writing, as usual. I am so glad that you are part of this conversation. Why do you think it is that so many Austin influencers are not taking a stand.. or are blindly (IMO) choosing a few nonsense bits that they agree with while choosing not to talk about how badly things are going “pear shaped” (as you’d say)? People that have huge followings like Chris Williamson, Dave Asprey, etc. (Rogan completely fouled the waters with sewage.. though he is slightly back pedelling now).
These people could make a HUGE difference just by choosing to acknowledge things are f’d up and inviting guests on to balance and educate the conversation. Instead, it seems they are choosing to play it safe so as not to risk losing some of their audience.. or affect their revenue.
Thanks for this view from 10,000 feet. I grew up in the 70’s here in ‘Merica and was pretty defiant in “breaking free” from meaningless wars, patriarchy cooperations /governments and all religions and their rules and customs. I still see problems with all these things but at the tender age of 68 I see what was lost and see more value in culture, tradition, and community. We threw the baby out with the quest for progress. Now I spend most of my efforts trying to rebuild culture, connection, and community. Here is the thing, we need a focused plan based on data and with a big picture view from 10k feet. Jamie…please continue your work in this regard. But for the rest of us…please move your focus a bit closer to home. Our communities need our help. Just like all politics are local - it is also true that all change starts locally with good humans rolling up their sleeves and building the world they want - right where they are! We need you to show up locally.
Not sure exactly sure what you are asking but I will take a stab at it.
When I say “local”, I mean where you live. The people and the problems there.
When I say that you (Jamie) should “keep doing your work in this regard”, I mean we need smart f’ers like you to be helping us understand how the pieces fit. The big picture stuff.
When I say “Now I spend most of my efforts trying to rebuild culture, connection, and community” I mean I’m in the trenches doing the thing. I run 2 not for profits, Journeymen.co and choose2advance.com and I’m launching a local “mentor” program.
When you ask, “on Substack?”…Hell no! The work is in our communities.
Absolutely loved this piece, Jamie. As someone living in Istanbul, I see firsthand how Europe's slower, steadier rhythm offers a kind of cultural ballast . It’s not flashy, but it’s deeply human . Your reflections capture that beautifully . Thanks for sharing.
Iain McGilchrist suggests our homo-stupens species 'appears' to be sleepwalking towards the Abyss? And the AGI decimated job market is happening in reality? Which may be pertinent to your own and every human being's self-hypnotic use of language? Because reality continues to unfold regardless of what the majority think about it? Hence when you say 'In reality," what does that actually mean?
And is our species' experiencing the 'end-of-days' prophecy about the fate of the Word? The personal Apocalypse of our brainwashed sense-of-reality in the self-satisfying self-hypnotic way we All use Words? With our human behaviours so subconsciously synchronous and automatic, we don't notice that we Not especially conscious of reality? Far too conscious of the 'sounds & symbols' nature of language, to be truly aware of the nature of Reality?
Having now lived in small-town Germany for 4 years, I can’t honestly say that it’s that different from my hometown in Iowa.
They’re pretty equal in terms of the significance of hospitality, tradition, place, people, community, architecture, and beauty (Europe in general does have better architecture though). I’d actually say my hometown has deeper hospitality and care for people in many respects.
Okay Jamie, you’ve covered a couple of chapters of what America is, but perhaps embedded deep in the book or small communities with healthy festivals, and looking out for neighbors and farmers markets, and healthy life around the schools with parent participation. Not shiny, not flashy, not making the scene or the news or social media. These are communities you don’t just “live“ but that you with an intention create. Your words reminded /inspire me to continue to do what I can to create meaningful moments for my community. Of course we’re all impacted to some degree by the current administration and Trump continuously in the headlines. But there are other stories to be told that are just as real, there are other facets of this country to guide our behavior and life. Btw, that meaningful community life. I’m speaking of need not to be in a small town or rule area. It can be within a large city. Admittedly, there’s more distractions and challenges, but we can create what we choose to.
I am just back from Europe a few weeks as well and you expressed exactly what I felt but didn't have the words for. Also, interesting to read some of the critiques from your readers, especially this your either on the right side or the wrong side rather than : wow, maybe we can integrate other perspectives rather than trying looking at who is right and who is wrong. That reminded me of this quote from McGilchrist's Master and His Emissary: "Where Chinese students try to retain elements of opposing perspectives by seeking to synthesize them, American students try to determine which is correct so they can reject the other. " Thanks Jamie!!
I lived in Asia for 35 years and Portugal for the past 6 years. I grew up in Ireland and Denver. The culture has deep problems that have existed before the USA was founded. I'm not sure we can skate on "progress" for much longer and expect things to improve for ordinary people. I love Portugal because people here "can swim." They've been in the deep end for a long time. Pumped up U.S. Americans are going to find "the fall" shockingly tough. I suggest you read Tom Murphy.
Even our neighbors to the North and South seem to get this. Living a traveling in Central America showed me how it is possible to work and succeed and maintain family and community and do a lot more being. It's frustrating to watch and live in.
Great read with some sobering/terrifying and hopeful/inspiring observations as always. Having left Australia some 30 years ago, I now reflect on the draw of the otherworld from my roots in the 70's 80's Ozzie "mongerels are the guys you want on your footy team" to the now, little carbon copy of the American dream. Heading home from Europe annually over 30 years, I always felt like a stranger/observer as I noted with interest and horror at the shift away from Australian European roots. A shift to the material, a shift away from community, a shift to citizen police keeping neighbours to account, a shift away from street cricket and footy and a shift to USA inspired ambulance chasing lawyers reminding the rough and tumble ozzie that if they stubbed their toe, then it was someone else's fault!! I found a new home after years in France, Italy, UK, the USA, and Turkey, and note that your Trek in the Tramontana is in my backyard in Mallorca. Europeans certainly have the patent on being not doing. In this realm, I find myself most at peace and connected to a community of neighbours, local farmers markets, medieval festivals, spiritual pilgrimage, coupled with a deep appreciation of what came before. The centuries ancient stone pathways of the Tramontana now bring me the solace that the goatly headland walks of Byron Bay once offered when I stomped that ground with my grandfather. The sadness that lies in my heart is that the ways of the aboriginal and subsequent European introduced culture can barely be felt in the bustle of the instafamous town of Byron these days, yet in Europe these clever peoples uphold tradition and pay homage to their ancestry by making the being far more valuable than the doing. A balance of these two is certainly required to thrive. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this Jamie as it really has brought much sense to my gravitation to where I feel most at home these days.
I do wonder, and positing a reflection, that when I have a dream, whilst I’m in that dream it might appear to be real, but when I awake, I can tell the difference between a dream and reality. I’m curious as to why ‘The American Dream’, is still used in some small way as a kind of building block or at least vision to build an American way of life. I’m not being flippant, as always I think your writing and thoughts going back to Stealing Fire are always on point (IMO), and not being an American myself I only have a very limited understanding of the American dream and way of life. At the same time, as you say Europe has been through two world wars, America in its present form is very young in comparison, you mention words to the effect of ‘adolescent young child’ metaphorically speaking, which I agree with, perhaps the very building blocks of ‘The American Dream’ need to be re thought? Yes Europe has its issues, politically speaking a fair few far right extreme dictators for instance and at the same time, as you say, because for centuries Europe has ‘had’ to work together it’s forced the issue. It might not be perfect, nothing is right, but at least it’s built on years of history, of accepting difference (though currently that’s under threat at times). I guess what I’m coming round to saying is perhaps the very foundations of ‘The American Dream’ need to be reconsidered? And this isn’t even touching on modern technology, social media platforms, truth/non truth, media outlets etc which is a whole other subject matter but at the same time has huge implications to the current landscape. Looking across the pond trying to figure out just how America is in the state it is in at the moment, and I can’t help but think and ponder that it’s in part to do with the very foundations with which America was built on, it’s very confusing and as always I appreciate your thoughts and writings on this subject matter and others. 👍
Nice to hear perspectives of different cultural systems from travels. Well written!
Beautiful and thoughtful writing, as usual. I am so glad that you are part of this conversation. Why do you think it is that so many Austin influencers are not taking a stand.. or are blindly (IMO) choosing a few nonsense bits that they agree with while choosing not to talk about how badly things are going “pear shaped” (as you’d say)? People that have huge followings like Chris Williamson, Dave Asprey, etc. (Rogan completely fouled the waters with sewage.. though he is slightly back pedelling now).
These people could make a HUGE difference just by choosing to acknowledge things are f’d up and inviting guests on to balance and educate the conversation. Instead, it seems they are choosing to play it safe so as not to risk losing some of their audience.. or affect their revenue.
Thanks for this view from 10,000 feet. I grew up in the 70’s here in ‘Merica and was pretty defiant in “breaking free” from meaningless wars, patriarchy cooperations /governments and all religions and their rules and customs. I still see problems with all these things but at the tender age of 68 I see what was lost and see more value in culture, tradition, and community. We threw the baby out with the quest for progress. Now I spend most of my efforts trying to rebuild culture, connection, and community. Here is the thing, we need a focused plan based on data and with a big picture view from 10k feet. Jamie…please continue your work in this regard. But for the rest of us…please move your focus a bit closer to home. Our communities need our help. Just like all politics are local - it is also true that all change starts locally with good humans rolling up their sleeves and building the world they want - right where they are! We need you to show up locally.
on Substack?
Not sure exactly sure what you are asking but I will take a stab at it.
When I say “local”, I mean where you live. The people and the problems there.
When I say that you (Jamie) should “keep doing your work in this regard”, I mean we need smart f’ers like you to be helping us understand how the pieces fit. The big picture stuff.
When I say “Now I spend most of my efforts trying to rebuild culture, connection, and community” I mean I’m in the trenches doing the thing. I run 2 not for profits, Journeymen.co and choose2advance.com and I’m launching a local “mentor” program.
When you ask, “on Substack?”…Hell no! The work is in our communities.
Really liked your point of view about Europe. Specially:
Hospitality matters.
Tradition matters.
Place matters.
People matter.
Community really matters.
Architecture matters.
Beauty matters.
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻😍
“Community really matters”
Absolutely loved this piece, Jamie. As someone living in Istanbul, I see firsthand how Europe's slower, steadier rhythm offers a kind of cultural ballast . It’s not flashy, but it’s deeply human . Your reflections capture that beautifully . Thanks for sharing.
Iain McGilchrist suggests our homo-stupens species 'appears' to be sleepwalking towards the Abyss? And the AGI decimated job market is happening in reality? Which may be pertinent to your own and every human being's self-hypnotic use of language? Because reality continues to unfold regardless of what the majority think about it? Hence when you say 'In reality," what does that actually mean?
And is our species' experiencing the 'end-of-days' prophecy about the fate of the Word? The personal Apocalypse of our brainwashed sense-of-reality in the self-satisfying self-hypnotic way we All use Words? With our human behaviours so subconsciously synchronous and automatic, we don't notice that we Not especially conscious of reality? Far too conscious of the 'sounds & symbols' nature of language, to be truly aware of the nature of Reality?
Alternate data point:
Having now lived in small-town Germany for 4 years, I can’t honestly say that it’s that different from my hometown in Iowa.
They’re pretty equal in terms of the significance of hospitality, tradition, place, people, community, architecture, and beauty (Europe in general does have better architecture though). I’d actually say my hometown has deeper hospitality and care for people in many respects.
Both are good places.
Okay Jamie, you’ve covered a couple of chapters of what America is, but perhaps embedded deep in the book or small communities with healthy festivals, and looking out for neighbors and farmers markets, and healthy life around the schools with parent participation. Not shiny, not flashy, not making the scene or the news or social media. These are communities you don’t just “live“ but that you with an intention create. Your words reminded /inspire me to continue to do what I can to create meaningful moments for my community. Of course we’re all impacted to some degree by the current administration and Trump continuously in the headlines. But there are other stories to be told that are just as real, there are other facets of this country to guide our behavior and life. Btw, that meaningful community life. I’m speaking of need not to be in a small town or rule area. It can be within a large city. Admittedly, there’s more distractions and challenges, but we can create what we choose to.
Thanks bro!
I am just back from Europe a few weeks as well and you expressed exactly what I felt but didn't have the words for. Also, interesting to read some of the critiques from your readers, especially this your either on the right side or the wrong side rather than : wow, maybe we can integrate other perspectives rather than trying looking at who is right and who is wrong. That reminded me of this quote from McGilchrist's Master and His Emissary: "Where Chinese students try to retain elements of opposing perspectives by seeking to synthesize them, American students try to determine which is correct so they can reject the other. " Thanks Jamie!!
I lived in Asia for 35 years and Portugal for the past 6 years. I grew up in Ireland and Denver. The culture has deep problems that have existed before the USA was founded. I'm not sure we can skate on "progress" for much longer and expect things to improve for ordinary people. I love Portugal because people here "can swim." They've been in the deep end for a long time. Pumped up U.S. Americans are going to find "the fall" shockingly tough. I suggest you read Tom Murphy.
https://dothemath.ucsd.edu/
know his blog--it's good stuff
Even our neighbors to the North and South seem to get this. Living a traveling in Central America showed me how it is possible to work and succeed and maintain family and community and do a lot more being. It's frustrating to watch and live in.
You have a talent for concisely describing the elusive.
America’s hyper-focus on Individualism (with a capital I) is eroding our foundations of social responsibility and morality. How ironic.
You have a talent for concisely describing what is otherwise elusive.
The hyper-focus on Individualism is killing us (bite your tongue woman!) and eroding conversations and community commitment.