Our Portland, Our Selves

I'm sure that you're aware in the U.S. we are in need of some more Unity. It seems like the division in our society has put us at odds with each other, each side screaming that their side has the answer and not listening to each other, except to repeat their ideological gospel. We need more Unity, and the only way that we can achieve that is to work to benefit all. But the place we start is in our own community. We are going through hard economic times, hard environmental times, hard power times, hard spiritual times and it is time for us to remember each other, remember the work that got us here, and work to help our community become stronger by helping each other to thrive. I feel that Portland is ready to do this work, and in the transformation, we will become a model to the rest of the country on how to turn things around. We need more local self-sufficiency, without sacrificing our global connections, but trade is not the only basis of global interchange. We can now through the Internet and in many cases in person see what solutions other countries have to problems and we could work to implement these solutions on a small scale in our own community. In the meantime, we will create work, by investing in new ideas with time, energy and money right here in our communities. Some of our efforts will bear fruit, and some will not. But we will be moving towards a more interconnected community and that will feed itself in the face of every success and failure.

The Theory.

So, here's a blog, a chance to make my voice heard through the power of social connectivity. I'm excited for it, and for the first post I'll just posit a theory.

Humanity's next goal is to become globally interconnected, and focused locally on radical interdependence. This is real freedom, and leaves room for the true power of enlightened individualism, while recognizing the adage that "no person is an island". Let's break it down.

Global Interconnectivity- This goal is already in process, but will continue to unfold as time passes. This is the promise of the internet, that people all over the world will be able to understand each other to a greater extent and grow their own autonomy through seeds planted from around the world. We can actually as a species learn best practices, and radically improve our efficiency in the use of global resources. The long term goal here is simple and unassailable, and only seems radical if a person is wearing blinders. This goal is for humanity to live in balance with natural systems rather than living in systems that naturally oppose balance.

Local Interdependence- Local interdependence means that the fundamentals to life and society are home grown. Drinking primarily local water, eating primarily local food, and building and creating our own local products. The basics should all be sustainably made, and made close to home so that breakdowns in the global supply chain do not have the capacity to cripple local livelihoods. It also presupposes that the local community has to interact with each other to survive and thrive. Imagine the intensity of creativity that such a movement would engender. Also if you will, imagine the new cultural flowering that would take root from such a movement.

Enlightened Individualism- There is a simple tenet that many cultures have used throughout history. Do as you will, as long as you do not infringe on the rights of others. Individual freedom is an absolute pre-requisite to creative leaps into the future, it is the bane of all repressive systems as a free individual will stand up to preserve that freedom. This is not the petty individualism of "nobody tells me what to do" which judges the individual as perfect. This idea is very obviously and patently false. But full individual potential for freedom is the field where genius manifests most often. We can always use more genius.