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Hello Mr. Wolf, won't you please sit down? - JWFITZ - 06-22-2008
Just a few thoughts.
As we come off the peak of what may well be the greatest period of wealth the world may ever see, it is interesting to see what it is we have gained in terms of standard of living, the hypothetical(if you can afford it)quality of health care, relative(for the moment) security, and a host of marvelous tools, machines, and technological gadgets. Most of these things are good for the most part, and while we can continue to afford them we will enjoy their benefits, no denying.
It is as important as well, to see what we have lost. Many things for sure. Privacy for one, as the same technological gadgets we enjoy aid snoopy meddlesome folk in the extreme. The ecology of the world has all been shot, and the Mother Goose of Nature that laid golden eggs has mostly been slaughtered, to the point where those who are caught up in the Neo-back to the land movement should stop and really consider how viable a vision that is, especially in the face of unpredictable climate disruption. Individual Sovereignty as envisioned by Enlightenment political thinkers has more or less been tossed out, with the State being asserted in most every manner, and with the rising power of Corporate power the individual is more or less powerless in fact to resist even the most mundane of affronts and injustices. Don’t think so? Try to combat an erroneous charge on your bank statement. . .
Still, I think perhaps the most dangerous thing we have lost is a sense of community, and especially community responsibility. That notion perhaps exemplified in the Amish tradition of “Barn raising,” an incontestable display of “take care of your neighbor”--where within the community exists the value that one should be COMPELLED to care for your neighbors, that good neighbors are valuable, and good neighbors in tern will take care of you. Unfortunately, wealth has given many the luxury of independence, and many have never learned the skills of “getting along” in the human community and its many social contracts--even within most families--most relationships and marriages in fact-- the bonds of mutual responsibility are pretty thin. That may feel liberating while things are good and life is easy, but there is quite a skill in people knowing how and that they can rely on each other in hard times that is GREATLY undervalued. Community spirit isn’t so much taking up causes that you value when in your free time--that is simply indulgent dilettante ethics borne of affluence. Community spirit is taking on the causes that are NOT fashionable, nor fun--and taking them on when it’s inconvenient or frankly a hassle.
This may well become a major difficulty here in Hawaii, as there is a fair amount of bad blood and alienation floating around, there are strong racial and economical factions here, there are strong cultural factions as well. We need to get beyond this. The population here is too small, and our location is far too remote from the rest of the world to indulge in the luxury of “not relying on each other.” Self-sufficiency is a myth--and as one who has studied homesteading and frontier lifestyles extensively I will have to say that the single largest cause I can identify with failure is alienation and lack of community support.
As far as I can see we as a world, and as an island face some very very difficult times in the relative near future. We are simply not prepared for resource scarcity and the rising costs that we will be facing in the next 3 - 5 years. Most of the suggestions for short term remedies we see may have been sensible 15 years ago, but today we need real solutions, and those solutions unfortunately are lacking. I don’t believe those solutions exist. Our lifestyles are likely to change radically, and this is going to create a good deal of individual difficulty and outright suffering here--and as one with a lot of skills to share I’d like to be positively proactive in building real meaningful social networks that will allow our area to weather these difficulties in “relative” ease. Hawaii has a lot going for it in many ways, and has a tradition of pretty easy living. Let’s not let that relative easy lure us into the complacency that may well entrap the rest of the world.
RE: Hello Mr. Wolf, won't you please sit down? - nanasohana - 06-22-2008
Very thought provoking post....thanks for posting this.
I think at times when the big picture is so overwhelming, and you may be right, the powers have the power and we little people are pretty much under their thumb, we have to turn to our own little corner of the world, our own block, perhaps even us and the neighbor next door. That is what I want to talk about after reading your post.
We came here 3 years ago, thinking we knew alot, not knowing much after all. Luckily for us, by the luck of the draw or what ever you prefer to call it, we happened to build next to good people, the kind you talk about that believe in a "help each other" way of life.
We, a pair of older hoales, off to have our adventure in paradise, to ecscape the dull and too well known world of over 30 years experience , raising a bunch of kids.
We arrived litteraly in our rental car with suitcases and weedeater, freshly boughten at home depot, tents from walmart and into the jungle we went with the weedeater revived up as far as possible which of course proved to be no match.
Our neighbor, who was a new arrival to hawaii in the 1940's after military service and of mexican ancestary, and who married a local hawaiian girl in Honolulu, came here to live at retirement, observed our futile efforts and immediately came to our rescue.
We ended up staying in the cabin behind their house, he helped us not only get the lot cleared with his excavator but jumped in many times in the building of our home.
They included us in several of there family gatherings, and we became aunty and uncle to there grandson.
There was an event that occured that we did that offened them because of a hawaiian custom and I think his wife has remained a little offish because of it, but is still quite civil to us.
I don't know if its because of being Okies, but we have always done the same, always helping neighbors when we could. And there have been times that we have helped our neighbors here also.
So isn't this what you are talking about? Getting down to this type of involvment again?
I will say if powers become too oppresive that people can congregate together and really bite hard and take back their own power.
But it think now is the time to help our neighbor next door.
RE: Hello Mr. Wolf, won't you please sit down? - allngood - 06-22-2008
Excellent posts and gets to the core of our problems. My generation of the 60's has been a huge disappointment as I see it. We started out to save the world and ended up becoming the "I want mine generation." I believe this attitude has found its way into following generations. This statement is about the group in general, please take it that way.
We tend to believe that the government, County, State, Feds can solve our problems, when in fact the record is clear that their programs are half hearted, costly, and non-productive.
Although not a fan, I think Hillary Clinton had it right when she said, "It takes a village to raise a child".
I do believe many good things can be done in Hawaii with community or individual efforts. I am lucky enough to have made my home here for 25 years (haole). I find that much can be done when respect and humility is shown.
My suggestion is for all to do something to help another.
Small things count big.
RE: Hello Mr. Wolf, won't you please sit down? - Hotzcatz - 06-22-2008
A lot of the current lack of community is caused by the way our "communities" have been built in the past three decades. We no longer have "centers" to our communities; public areas where folks can come together, meet and interact. Anyone ever visit a town with a town square? The typical village green with a bandstand, park benches scattered along the walkways through the green, a statue of someone on a horse, a fountain and the town clock, etc.? Previously, each village was centered around a particular reason for that village to exist, a grain mill, a harbor, a cheese factory (which in the case of my relatives has turned into a pizza factory so now many folks are making frozen pizza instead of cheese, but it's all the same thing), etc. Each community would have a reason for existing, a central community owned area where folks can meet for various reasons and have community events and festivals as well as other community owned public areas for folks to interact. Things like parks and shady sidewalks. A community garden is another good interaction area. Houses should be built with a welcoming face to the street, not a gaping garage door and no visible front door in sight. There should be a visible face to the house, with a social interaction area (front porch) between the private house and the public sidewalks. Cars should be relegated to a back alley and not the most visible thing in front of the house. With these things in place, you will have community otherwise all you have is an assortment of bedrooms clustered in the same geographical area with no reason for them to come out from behind their cars and TV.
HPP has more than enough population base to become it's own village, but it doesn't have the space to do it in. If in the middle of the sub, there was a place for a town square, a cluster of shops and some economic endeavor for the folks to engage in, then you would have a true village and the "community" would become defacto instead of merely wished for.
A village of 2,000 people can support a small grocery store, a cafe, a bar, a gas station, a farm and garden store, a small entertainment area (putt-putt golf, theater, video arcade, pool hall, etc.) perhaps as well as a few other places, but the folks need to have some jobs in the village or they will take their business outside the village and then your village becomes bedrooms in lala land again. Of course, some the required jobs will be in the village businesses but there should be some sort of light manufacturing or processing so something that can be sold outside the village will bring in outside-the-village-revenue. Tourists are not dependable and they should be considered dessert, but not the meal which keeps the village fed.
Try for arcadian utopia, you may miss the mark, but at least it will be better than useless houses clustered off in the middle of nowhere.
RE: Hello Mr. Wolf, won't you please sit down? - AlohaSteven - 06-22-2008
Certainly we do live in interesting times. Since many critical global factors cannot be accurately predicted (such as specific instances of severe storm impacts on crop yields, particular disease outbreak events, Antarctic ice slippage vis a vis sea level, and potentially destabilizing political events like a nuclear or dirty bomb detonation in a major port city and/or oilfield) it is impossible to anticipate every possible eventuality which _could_ be possible, and most such will never come to pass anyway, yet there are some distinctly calculable factors sure to become issues which must be addressed.
At http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/06/20/mackay_on_carbon_free_uk/ a quite readable summary of the energetics for another Big Island is presented, along with a link to a free downloadable book. Parts of that analysis can be applied toward Hawaii's paradigm, I think. Food for thought.
There is no cause for despair as I read the data. There is great cause for people to pull together, build community, and develop sustainable systems while it is still relatively easy to do so if only we exercise our free will to make this choice and engage meaningfully with the challenges and opportunities at hand. Investing attention and effort now will yield huge benefits in the years and decades to come. Recall the old saying about dues? "Pay now or pay later, ...but pay later with penalties and accumulated compound interest." Ever so true, and equally true of the positive pay-out which comes later of having foresight and investing effort now.
RE: Hello Mr. Wolf, won't you please sit down? - JerryCarr - 06-22-2008
quote:Actually, there are several 20 acre parcels of land in HPP set aside for just such purposes. The problem is that the zoning, utility infrastructure, roads, and investment backing are lacking. The Puna Community Development Plan addresses some of these issues and proposes some sensible development in HPP. We should all support the adoption of the Plan into law by communicating our views to our elected representatives.
Originally posted by Hotzcatz
HPP has more than enough population base to become it's own village, but it doesn't have the space to do it in. If in the middle of the sub, there was a place for a town square, a cluster of shops and some economic endeavor for the folks to engage in, then you would have a true village and the "community" would become defacto instead of merely wished for.
Cheers,
Jerry
RE: Hello Mr. Wolf, won't you please sit down? - JWFITZ - 06-22-2008
Then (kinda) to quote another hero,
"Then zoning is an ass"
RE: Hello Mr. Wolf, won't you please sit down? - Kapohocat - 06-22-2008
Sb said that one of the biggest differences for him in the building industry was the lack of builders working together. He said when a builder was in trouble, and called on the group, they would spend a few days or a weekend helping the builder out, or share a tool if needed or whatever but it wasn't so down right snarly. He is finding a few guys like this (helpful & neighborly builders) - in fact a few are members here.
And yes Hotcatz idea is truly why our communities are not community. Honomu is a better example of a "village" with only what 800 residents?
Catherine Dumond
Blue Water Project Management
808 965-9261
"We help make building your dream home a reality"
RE: Hello Mr. Wolf, won't you please sit down? - JWFITZ - 06-22-2008
I think key to the issue is that trust has been lost on both ends.
A) That people who are deadbeats, perpetual screwups, have always been very quick to call on the community.
B) That people who are connected, and "empowered"(I hate that terminology) have been very slow to give back to the community that created the environment that allowed them to prosper.
Both of these tendencies are "anti-social", are they not?
RE: Hello Mr. Wolf, won't you please sit down? - Dave M - 06-22-2008
Wow.. yous guys are gonna get in Big Trouble. Community, free will, sustainable societies.... OMG... you all should get back to your 9-5 jobs, stop by the big box store (pick up your contaminated substances) return to your over mortgaged living space and tune in the news (Fux, CNN etc,,) drink 3 beers, pass out and get up tomorrow and start over. And for Christ sake don't mention this thread to anyone. I'm sure JWFITZ will be getting a visit from black suburbans soon. I guess it's a good thing yous guys live on an Island cuz you keep talking all this crazy community, free will sht and your gonna end up on Guantanamo.
Lol..I can't help but think of the guy walking against the circle in the movie Midnight Express. I hope yous guys understand that the US is the heart and soul of the problem you're discussing. We're the ones that are leading this trend. Well...us and Japan. Check out many other small countries they look at our lifstyles in absolute disbelief.
Blessings,
dave
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