If we’re going to build something substantial we should have a very substantial foundation. So bear with me while I over-engineer my blog, you know, to build in safety margins.
We all have a matrix through which we perceive the world. My matrix manifests out of my faith. That faith is Christianity. I can hear brakes screeching and then the hear the “What the _ _ _ _ does THAT have to do with THIS?” or maybe “ANYTHING?” Please hear me out. This is my attempt to be transparent in revealing the bases of my interpretation of the world and its workings. This needn’t turn into a debate about some of the seemingly conflictual concepts in science, culture and religion. As a Christian TRUTH is very much at the heart of what I’m concerned with. Let me attest right now that my belief has some built in humility. I’m not here to cast dispersions on anybody or make a case for any creed or dogma. As Christian I believe that every single person is bestowed dignity by their Creator. That doesn’t depend on anything believed or done by any individual. On top of that I have to say that because of that same faith I’m persuaded that no individual or organization has, or CAN have the corner on truth. Even if there is something that comes closest, it is incomplete. I think the beauty inherent in our experience is that when we acknowledge our own fractured nature and our severe finiteness we can see that within a tapestry of cultures, languages and beliefs we can, together, come to a more complete understanding of truth. The older I get the more aware I become of my incompleteness. So I am immediately on guard against those who are so certain of their correctness that they cannot entertain dissent or debate. So much of the public dialogue is poisoned with casting blame, assigning motives to and villainizing individuals, organizations and cultures. So I reject that approach for the error that it is. Instead, my faith teaches me to be a servant of all and to do so under an umbrella of gentleness and respect. To come to the aid of the less fortunate. To feed, clothe and house those who, for WHATEVER REASON, are living without. I think that takes some sacrifice. And that doesn’t have to look one particular way. In my way of thinking that’s one of the most beautiful aspects of this interconnectedness of person to person or person to God. There is no one prescribed way to go about doing what is in your mind to do. It requires a dependence on the relationship one has with their Creator and other people to synthesize a path forward. If I’ve put you to sleep I apologize. All of this leads me to try to do something, anything, to be of service and comfort to others. As a USA citizen I don’t stumble across many true slums in the course of my travels. Though I’ve seen pictures of them dozens, if not hundreds, of times, to see slums in person delivers something of body blow, a shock to the system. While I am looking to simplify and streamline, another is struggling to establish basic shelter with few resources and virtually no civic or community support. Am I willing to let some of my fine ideas go unfulfilled if my redirected efforts can help bring others nearer to some sort of standard recognizable level of health and safety? I’m going to acknowledge often that complex issues don’t have simple answers. But with technology and innovation the basics I refer to can be developed in ways that are sustainable and tailored to the local context. Can some sort of prefabricated modular core elements be inexpensively built that enable more sanitary and comfortable housing? How would we proceed in an urban setting to convert a slum into something more life affirming and less spirit crushing? For starters I imagine that I can’t assume anything about the people I am so convinced need help. What could I possible know about what they want or need without asking? So as we proceed I suggest that we spend a little time looking outside ourselves for guidance and answers.
As I search around looking to find what approach others are taking to answer some of the questions we will deal with here, I am, again, humbled. There are smarter folks than I making big impacts all around the world in dazzling variety. I’m startled by the depth of thought and intellect arrayed against the challenges and obstacles. After taking in information after my initial passes my first thought was, “What is it exactly that I think I can do?” Maybe I’m wasting my time. Let’s be clear, I have no formal education in this field. And since I have a history of meeting a challenge with a sidestep or quip on my way to something easier, the danger of being overwhelmed into inaction seemed a likely end. But you know what? I’m going to move forward and trust. Trust that there is a reason I’m here. That maybe in some simple, or possibly profound way, I can, we can, make a worthwhile contribution. Sometimes an outsider can be a catalyst because they just don’t know what can’t be done so they try anyway. Sometimes breakthroughs happen as a result. How many of the technological advances that we have benefitted from have come by way of an accident or mistake? Shoot. I can make mistakes with the best of ’em!
One other foundation of my perspective is that I think some things have nearly run their course and big changes are in store. This isn’t intended to foster theories of conspiracy or feed paranoia. It’s unsettling and automatically uncomfortable to voice upheaval as something imminent. Well, seemingly imminent. These ideas look crazy until the unthinkable happens. I don’t claim any special insight or acumen. I’m not really worried about zombies yet but there do seem to be things that seem so utterly different than when I was growing up, or even when our parents were, that the path to peace and prosperity on a personal level appear to be forever out of reach. It used to be that a family could get by quite nicely with one person working a manufacturing job. That’s not a career plan with much security these days. There is a greater gap than ever, in this country and in this epoch, between the haves and the have nots. It begins to be a little easier to see how someone would grasp at something that once was unimaginable, to find an ally or an advocate. I read an interesting article, that I wouldn’t describe as rigorously scientific or scholarly, but that makes the bold and credible statement that capitalism is in its dying throes. That in all the ways we were guided to be educated and equip ourselves to be able to move forward and upward in life don’t work anymore. Sure, some sectors still provide a lucrative and upwardly mobile trajectory. But so many more are stalling and imploding. Those with influence, wealth and power, both in government and outside it could do something to help retool industries and work forces to adapt to the next phase, and a few notables are. That cadre however, largely seems to be preoccupied with their own comfort and luxuries. Focusing on consolidation of power and reveling in their superior prowess, rationalizing their self assured deserving of such excess. That strategy leads to more separation between the two groups assuring that one day…. it just blows up! Either revolution or collapse. For all their business acumen one wonders why the long view is ignored. It can only be an extreme manifestation of blind greed that robs their own progeny of a future. While I don’t think that there is some profound, apocalyptic event on the horizon I am motivated to make a way for my family to be taken care of in the basic areas of life, those being shelter, food and clothing. I want to be insulated against repossession and so would like to have zero mortgage and have no outstanding debts or reliance on credit. I want to be plugged into a community that wants to take care of each other within a relatively small area. I want all of this AND to not be spread so thin that rest and contentment are only infrequent visitors.
So what IS next? Even with my layman’s understanding of the discipline of economics it has always seemed to me that the whole global economy is one big pyramid scheme. It requires growth, growth and more growth. If it ever reaches it’s maximum potential and there is just nowhere to go, what happens? My lack of sophistication rears its head here again and says, “I dunno.” But it isn’t pretty and I can guarantee that. So aren’t we better off getting out ahead of it? And in so doing are we intending to confront the one or two percenters, or just step around them? Through an architecture website I came across something that is clearly an effort to offer alternatives. These ideas are presented under the title Compendium For The Civic Economy. I found it on architecture00.net and I will quote the brief synopses that they provide. “00 compiled a compendium of case studies of the ‘Civic Economy’- our term for how, against the context of rapid economic, social and environmental change, a collective reflection is taking place on how to build more sustainable routes to shared prosperity.” (Italics are mine) And… “A civic economy is emerging, one which is fundamentally both open and social. It’s an economy which is fusing the culture of WEB 2.0 with civic purpose.” You can download the compendium for free.
While I haven’t pressed hard on the task of working out shelter for the huddled masses in this post I think the reimagining of economy, cooperation and sharing the wealth is an environment in which some substantial progress can be made in exactly that area. If our motive to go into a community isn’t personal or corporate wealth building, but to look for ways to partner and grow relationships I believe the innovation will follow. And a derivative benefit is that as we aid and care for those around us we won’t be left wanting.
