I think there is a sociopathy and selfish cowardice growing in our society's establishments

[coti]

that will ultimately lead to a shift by principled civilians, which are a sizeable portion of our population, to alternative communities.

I saw Richard Clarke's comments regarding the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's proposal to infiltrate and spy on perceived opposition groups and blackmail them.

These kinds of tactics are becoming par for the course in our society. Our media, our political discourse, and our laws are now routinely being used as tools of persuasion and power instead of as tools for informing the public of information they legitimately need to know and keeping order. That doesn't just apply to Republicans, either. This is simply the state of our civic dealings. Sociopathy and self-interest rule the world.

People that genuinely care about our their families and communities generally will not involve themselves with that convention, though.

What I am seeing is that those good people are turning away from the "mainstream" to attempt to contribute to and help create something different and newer that is not corrupted and already decaying.

For example, we're seeing an enormous groundswell of new engineered devices and software from our young people. Take a look at this month's Wired magazine. People are becoming amazingly creative.

I think that, over time, we are going to see these creative people decentralizing, developing new approaches to life and shielding themselves and their communities from corrupted influences. I see the influence of the "mainstream" further declining and a Balkanization of lifestyles occuring, which is really surprising to think of coming about in the United States. But I think it's going to happen.

[murielm99]

1. I agree.

I think it will happen for a number of other reasons, too.

We will not have oil. Communities will have to depend on and manufacture most of their own renewable energy. We will have to grow our own food locally. If we survive global warming and further nuclear plant accidents, which I consider inevitable if we continue on our current path, we will have to think small.

I hope our government survives corporatism. We could create a great new way of living in latter part of the twenty-first century if we can do that.

[coti]

2. I hope so too. We are in dire need of new ideas, though.

Truly new ideas. Not simplistic libertarian crap. Not self-justifying political garbage. Something that will actually work.

This system ain't working. Hopefully somebody with the right theory for our time will be there to fill the gap.

[murielm99]

6. Someone suggested this.

Transitioning is actually a growing movement:

http://www.transitionus.org/

[bananas]

3. k&r nt

[markpkessinger]

4. I agree in part . . .

I agree that we seem to be in a time of nearly unprecedented era of selfishness, where people increasingly focus on "me and mine" rather than us and ours. But I don't think the increasing fragmentation of society into ever smaller groups of mostly like-minded folks is something to be celebrated or encouraged. At first glance, withdrawal into alternative communities may seem like an attractive option; but the kind of Utopia sought by folks who effectively withdraw from society is rarely realized. And even if it could be realized in whole or in part within the alternative community, such isolation means, in effect, that the folks who are isolating themselves have abandoned any possibility of trying to improve things for those who may not have the option or resources to do the same.

For me, at the very heart of what it means to be a progressive is a commitment to stay engaged, dispiriting and frustrating as that can be at times.

[eilen]

5. I think you are projecting your ideas of what is a localized

community. They are not necessarily isolated or withdrawn.

For example, look at the Catholic Worker Society which has Houses all over the US which care and nurture those who are society's forsaken. They are within but also without.

While in history there have been isolated communities, they do not have to be that way (Amish, Branch Davidian, Mormon sects) They also do not have to be religious based.

Communities that wish to preserve their integrity are operating now-- see the recent article in the NYT http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/26/us/26detroit.html?hp about the Grandmont Rosedale neighborhood in Detroit.

This can start as a few blocks of homes, a neighborhood and grow to encompass a small village or town. As more people come to belong and work together, the community grows. People have to work together. Grassroots leadership will be what works, not this dogged allegience following one money party after the other. We have to make ourselves our communities strong first.

Enough of these communities form, there is a voting bloc. A voting bloc that does not get bought out by TPTB. A voting bloc that can launch an alternative, an opposition to the corporate politicians.

A community can refuse to allow the BigBox/ Walmart. Ever go to a farmer's market? It is underground economy. People can change the zoning rules in their own town or county. They can elect new leaders of their town, judges, and school boards. Alternative schools can be put up in our own favor not the Corporate Charter School model. We can create our own local scrip to provide ourselves with the basic essentials. We can create our own power authorities and localize our generation.

Look at what the Tea Party has done with lots of outside money. They have undergone a "takeover" so to speak. Fair democratic liberal thinking people can do the same thing -- without the sell-out to corporations and military. We have enough of us that are un and underemployed that can canvas. We can distribute flyers and posters at public meeting places. We can billboard, send viral Youtube videos. There are ways of whispering the option of alternatives out there and I want to tell you, people are ready for an alternative to the scared, lonely social and economic darwinian culture that is pervading our lives. Those who are still idealogues to Randian and Birch, hell, they have entire states to live in. The rest of us can aid and assist our economic refugees to a new community. There are plenty of towns that have been all but abandoned across the country-- it is not like there isn't any room.

So first, one must see what can be done in one's own place, community, block. The peeps are out there. Get some numbers. Hammer out a basic mission/guidelines for a sustainable equitable society-- a framework in which decisions must be based on. None of this nebulous platform crap that changes with the individual who is elected on their whim (or likely command from campaign contributers).

Then build the community, campaign for the fresh water, fresh food and air you need. Find talented medical and natural healers that can maybe team up and form a subscription plan or some kind of group plan together for at least preventative and primary care. Start running for school boards, while at the same time running small local preK programs for our kids-- under the radar (a preK coop that doubles as a daycare --as far as anyone else can see-- the kids are playing in someone's yard or community center.) No reason to give up on our kids because the Federal Gov. has decided they have to "race to the top" to deserve any help.

Get the Neighborhood Watches active again as many county gov. have to let go of police d/t budget cuts/funding decreases. Take note of any abandoned looking properties in your neighborhood and research them. Who owns them? If they are neglected/blight and a bank owns it, see what legal course one can take to charge the bank and maybe remove their rights to it so that someone without a home can be placed to help get them on their feet (with ownership to the community organization). Once basic needs are being met, the higher order of organizing and safeguarding the well being of citizens can commence. Prepare a support team for the senior citizens-- yard care, shoveling, transport to Dr. grocery/ meds delivery, homecare monitoring, visit in hospital. Having market days, a communication network, working within and without the present structure. It will grow. Those that are resistant at first are won over or feel it's time to move on to a more compatible location. Service hours (sweat equity) to the community compensate in scrip--community credits (not counted as income for debt collectors) but can be used for the basics-- food, energy (created by community generators--solar for example but I would expect that to be varied), other services, rent on community properties, community stores, rental of communal tools or vehicles, healthcare from community providers -- daily needs.

Anyway those are just some ideas. The goal is to provide some hope and security for those in the community, a place or haven for those who have lost their community d/t economic upheaval/crisis, and a strategic plan to decrease the influence of corporate greed and influence over our governing bodies and regain our voice as well as the priority of the people to our elected leaders. It is not closed but open and all must contribute. A structure for leadership would have to be decided -- some type of ad hoc board initially but entirely democratic in nature as all members have a share, an ownership. They (communties will be like neighborhoods)-- small, decentralized but ownership transferable--one can only belong to one at any time.

[markpkessinger]

7. I think you need to re-read the OP

The OP specifically referred to people choosing alternative communities and "shielding themselves and their communities from corrupted influences." Sounds rather like the Amish approach to me.

[coti]

8. You're both right, but eilen was moreso.

I see the communities being based more in economic and political theory than religion, and her post- which was impressively detailed- seemed to have a better grasp of that.

As for how isolated the communities would be, I think it will depend on the circumstances of each community. The concept of decentralization is based in different communities having different needs and different resources with which they can fill those needs. Communities near each other may be economically and politically likeminded, or they may not be, leading to either more or less cooperation between them.

We're talking in pretty vague terms, here, of course, and such trends may not be all that measurable, just as the causes of such a shift are not really measurable.

But I think, ultimately, that such a shift will be a good thing. It will create opportunities for communities to find new lifestyles that are both more efficient and more harmonious with their surroundings.

[eilen]

9. Well, thank you

I had a similar conversation with my son and my mother regarding the fact that the federal legislation as well as state legislation IRT school funding and standards are so wrong headed as they do not take into account the differing needs and challenges of the diverse communities. In addition, the comparisons they are making to other nations is very misleading as not all children go to school in say, Thailand or Vietnam-- only those in which families can afford to pay. Also, you don't find a great focus on Special Ed-- specifically MR/DD population being mainstreamed into regular classrooms in Europe thus no need for their teachers to expend time and energy developing lesson plans to meet every need and level of learning. As a matter of fact, one of my friend's grandchildren was born with such challenges she is truly incapable of learning (half her brain tissue did not develop). She is mainstreamed in a regular classroom for really, no observable educational or clinical reason. She would be better off in a healthcare/therapy oriented day program for children with special needs rather than an educational one-- if one existed-- however that is unlikely to happen in our austere environment. She likely costs the school district quite a pretty penny to have the properly trained staff in attendance. While some may bristle at my story thinking I advise that all MR/DD not have opportunity to mainstream, please desist, that is not what I have to say at all and i don't believe that. I believe in that instance, perhaps the current rules are not serving this student nor her classmates, nor the school district and the community at large.

I think you would enjoy this article about community through the lens of specialist vs generalist that I am currently slogging my way through:

Wendell Berry and the New Urbanism: Agrarian Remedies, Urban Prospects
by MARK T. MITCHELL

http://www.frontporchrepublic.com/2011/03/wendell-berrys-new-urbanism-agrarian-remedies-urban-prospects/