Maybe we should look at ourselves instead of our government for change…
Our government woorks to continually change in order to protect our way of life and to do whatever is necessary make us safe. When you think about it, maybe it’s not the government and financial institutions that are to blame… maybe it’s us, or the way we live that needs to change?
For a little over 200 years in the ever changing world in which we live the leaders in our government have done what they feel is necessary to protect our way of life. We have become dependent on a system that is supported by oil, capitalism, corruption and greed .
The first thing we must understand is that the entire system exists out of our own dself interest and greed, other than need. The one single resource that we NOW can not live without is OIL. The fact is this very forum, web site, computer you are on and the internet would not exist without oil. You can thank our leaders for that. If we had not been constantly fighting to maintain at least some control over the Middle East and its vast supplies of oil, we would perhaps be a third world country being run by someone other than ourselves.
The only way to change, is to change the way we live. Our lifestyles as American consumers and workers are what feed the banks, corporations, oil companies and the rich. By changing the way we think, we can change the way we live, work and play to self-sustaining ways. If we reduce our dependency on oil and the system we have created from oil, we will take away the power of the corporations, financial systems and the influence these corporations have over us and our government.
In the past hundred and fifty years or so we have evolved out of influence of the media. Our natural instinct in “seeing is believing” has allowed smaller groups of special interest to influence the masses with mass media, much as the advertisers today sell us their goods through the use mass-media marketing.
The ONLY WAY TO BREAK this cycle is to break our dependency from the huge amounts of unnecessary products and services we buy, and the credit we use to purchase them!
Is this possible? Can we live without the power companies, water companies, grocery stores, gas stations, jobs, rents, mortgages on our homes and payments on our cars. Can we live without credit cards and going to Wal-Mart and buying masses of products that we do not need?
The answer is YES…if we choose – Rural America has some of the most beautiful and abundant resources in the world, and before oil, our forefathers and humans had survived for millions of years without jobs, mortgages, and with little or no money for the goods and services they needed. Everything was produced in the environment in which they lived.
Today’s Technology with Yesterday’s Principals
Building sustainable rural communities. We have abundant NATURAL RESOURCES throughout the united states and by using technologies and information available today on rural lands around the nation we can provide everything we need to survive with limited oil and even to thrive without it.
How Do We Begin?
Like our forefathers did. If small groups of people come together and invest in a land trust and use the trust to buy tracks of quality rural land America can work especially well again by reducing its dependency on oil and jobs provided by and supported by oil. Communities working together and helping one another build homes, raise animals, grow crops and even make energy can not only create sustainable communities and livelihoods, but can generate enough quality food using modern growing techniques http://www.backyardfarms.com/ to supply urban areas with fresh local food and generate a substantial income for the community as well.
Note: I grew up in a small town in Maine. My grandparents lived very well (and without stress) on their two acres of land. They would make a trip to the grocery store once a month to purchase mostly sugar and flour. They had a milking cow, raised two vegetable gardens every summer, raised two pigs, honey bees, fruit trees, blackberries, raspberries and a fresh water spring to feed it all. Also In the Spring of the year we would tap Maple trees and make 50 (or so) gallons of maple syrup. They grew way more food than they needed and gave much of it away to us…their four children and grandchildren who lived nearby.
I am interested in meeting others who have to explored the possibilities of building self-sustaining communities through new technologies in locally grown agriculture.
