To my family, friends, business associates and any forward thinking person who is concerned about the direction in which our society and the world are heading:I have been working on a book about my observations and concerns regarding the well-being of American society and our planet for several years now. The focus of my work is centered around the idea that an ever-increasing amount of short-term thinking and decision making at all levels within our society has positioned our country and the natural world we all share very precariously for the future.
Since I started recording my thoughts and conducting background research, many of my observations have since become reality instead of simply my own conjecture. Now, four years later, at the prompting of my wife, Deena, I have decided to allocate the time to finish my work and begin releasing one chapter per month on this blog site for all to read. I have also decided to include within each chapter ideas that may help foster positive change.
I was originally going to work with a publisher, then considered self-publishing with the help of an online service, but finally settled on releasing the chapters one-by-one electronically on this blog site at no charge to the reader. I don’t yet know the best title for the work, so feel free to propose any ideas you may have. To date the best I have come up with is either “Consumed” or “Endangered Species”.
If you enjoy what I have written, all I ask is that you share the chapters with others by simply clicking on the “forward this to a friend” link at the bottom of the e-mail I just sent you. You can also opt out from the list at any time. I am using the Mail Chimp program to deliver your e-mails each month which will include a link to each chapter on this blog site. For those of you I contacted through Facebook, please feel free to forward to anyone in your friends list you feel might enjoy this.
I also encourage feedback and information sharing amongst readers on this site in the hopes of getting some good conversation going between parties with different points of view. I don't have all the answers and see my role here as one of facilitator. The ultimate goal being an increased level of introspection by readers and ultimately perhaps some positive long-term results for our society and the planet.
Note: This initial book overview, introduction and first chapter may appear a bit fragmented and feel somewhat unfocused, as they contain a wide range of thoughts and ideas. As additional chapters are released each month they will become increasingly more focused.
Introduction:
It is now September, 2009. I started work on this book almost four years ago, and somewhere between my wife Deena and I having twin boys, developing a self-sustaining residential community in Costa Rica (Finca Las Brisas), running a handful of other small businesses, and doing some mentoring, I am just finally getting around to completing my work. I was initially concerned that my observations would have grown old and stale – outdated. But quite the contrary, for as I re-read and updated my work it became apparent that what I had been observing and feeling for the past few years has, if anything, intensified, becoming even more poignant and relevant.
As I type our twin boys, Owen and Coleman are approaching three and a half years of age - their bodies and minds developing and expanding at a dizzying pace. When I see their raw energy, enthusiasm, creativity, and untainted innocence it makes me yearn to join them. But would I want to be three right now even if I could? I am deeply concerned about the world they will inherit. With our natural resources dwindling, climate change upon us, and a severe shaking of our global financial foundation in full swing, I wonder where we are headed.But perhaps a new day has dawned. With the prospects for increased harmony between races and improved tolerance for differences, Barack Obama has appeared on the horizon as a knight in shining armor. But will things really change significantly here in the U.S.? Will the ground-breaking policy transformations necessary for our nation to thrive in the future be implemented? History tends to say not. Our political leaders in recent memory have exemplified just what this book is all about – making short-sighted, self-serving decisions at the expense of the majority in the long-term. As an optimist, I hold out hope that Washington still might begin to realize we are in desperate need of a new direction, but only time will tell. Perhaps it is finally time for the “one big party” in Washington (as I like to call it) to come to an end. Maybe it is time for us all to become more responsible for our actions and take more control of our own destiny. Maybe it is time to take our country back.
Over the past year I have been struggling with how to keep the lights on at my two small businesses and keep my four employees gainfully employed. Sales are off for non-essential products like Purrfect Fence (keeps cats safe outdoors) and for Moss Acres (supplier of live moss for shady area landscaping projects). If these niche, consumer oriented companies are to survive there are few options but to cut costs and re-invent ourselves to operate competitively in the current economy. This past winter was incredibly difficult, but I made the long-term decision to maintain my staff, re-position the businesses for a questionable future, all while cutting other costs. Fortunately I had some reserves that have enabled the companies to get by so far.
My small businesses are not able to line up at the trough in Washington for bail out money, and even if I were able to, how could I feel good about taking my own fellow citizens tax money? As an entrepreneur in a capitalistic society I succeed or fail by my own business decisions. Why should larger corporations with the “brightest minds” in the world be treated any differently? Banks in particular – they are the ones who are supposed to have this all figured out anyway. Businesses of all sorts have historically failed and been replaced by those that run efficiently and profitably - end of story. Am I incredibly frustrated that our own government and other greedy, live-beyond-their-means Americans have compromised the future of our country and our financial security? – you bet I am.
The worst part is that Owen and Coleman will be paying back this “bailout” money for years to come. In my mind this bailout was simply a reward for poor performance and a way to keep the financial “shell game” rolling along. (By the way I recently learned that over 30% of our domestic GDP now comes from the financial services industry- talk about exaggerating productivity). I say let poorly run companies fail and leaner, more intelligently run businesses take their place – that’s the way it has always been, so why change now.If nothing else, I hope by reading my observations of our society over the past four years, you come away with the realization that as Americans we can all do better. It is my opinion that it is has come time for each and every one of us to begin thinking about the Owens and Colemans of the world and the other species and ecosystems we share this amazing planet with. We face serious challenges before us, including an exploding global population, a dwindling supply of nutritious food and potable water, depletion of cheap carbon-based energy resources, and an environment beginning to show signs of stress from generations of exploitation. I think we will all need to adjust how we live our lives, and the sooner we start making these changes, in my opinion, the better. For starters, I need to work on reducing the length of my hot showers.
Since we can both work remotely, my wife Deena and I are fortunate enough to be able to spend a good part of our summers along the coast of Maine in an old cape that I have been fixing up for the past nine years. Ou
r good friend, Kevin O’Hanlon recently visited us for a few days from Manhattan, taking some time off from running his video production company that focuses on producing short documentaries for all types of artists – FilmsOnArtists.com. Kevin is an old soul – one of the most easy-going, creative, and optimistic guys I know. I had him preview my book. He liked it a lot (perhaps being our house guest didn’t hurt). He made the suggestion that I might want to weave my story of how I have been working towards creating a self-sustaining, future-focused residential community in Costa Rica into the fabric of my work. He felt the comparison between life here in the States and my experience developing a an off-grid community abroad would be quite interesting. I liked the idea.
Finca Las Brisas is a project that has consumed me for close to five years now. It is an ecologically, future-focused community - a place where environmentally conscious people can own property, live and/or vacation in harmony with nature, and interact with like-minded individuals within the community and with the surrounding Tico neighbors. There is no agenda – just a healthy lifestyle in a sustainable way. Doing right by the land, each other, and the people of Costa Rica is all that matters – there’s no other “theme”. The community members share resources, including over 150 acres of unspoiled forests, year-round rivers with numerous waterfalls, orchards/vegetable farm, and community center buildings and facilities. The goal is to require little to no external inputs of any kind from outside our community or surrounding farms once construction of the community facilities and lot owner villas are completed (most construction materials are either on site or from surrounding farms). External inputs we hope to eliminate include all food, water, and energy.From first visiting over twenty five farms all along the Pacific coast, to finally deciding on one, to the thousands of hours of work that have gone into the project since, it is a story of passion, commitment, community, and forward thinking that has embarked me on a journey that is all but impossible to
describe. Phrases like “doing more with less”, “being patient”, “thinking about the future”, “considering all the upsides and downsides”, “looking at all the scenarios” , “how does this impact others”– these are all thoughts that come to mind. Slowing down and being more open and thoughtful have been the common themes. The project has tested my mettle as an entrepreneur in every way imaginable, but I know in my heart that we are creating a legacy and model for how to live respectfully and in harmony with the land. It has also taught me a lot about the human spirit and what is really important in life – supporting each other, and coming together for the common good. For these reasons and others, I will, throughout this book, frequently compare and contrast life in America to my life-changing experience in Costa Rica.First I should set the stage for how circumstantial the whole project really is...
I was never one to believe in destiny or "karma", but over the past three years there sure seems to be a lot of positive energy associated with our project. For starters, I could never seem to figure out the strange coincidence of my meeting a builder from an adjacent town in Maine at a garden show in San Francisco at which I was exhibiting. Ironically a few months later, Jay Dodge was helping me restore our home along the coast, and then three years ago was inviting me to visit he and his wife Darby at their home in Costa Rica.
Soon after arriving, my one partner and lifelong friend, Wayne McDonald and I were being introduced to the Dodge's neighbor from Brooklyn - Howie Kramer. Howie had made contact with a local farmer who owned a piece of land up in the mountains, and so on a lark, Wayne and I decided to take a look around...the rest is now history.
I was never one to believe in destiny or "karma", but over the past three years there sure seems to be a lot of positive energy associated with our project. For starters, I could never seem to figure out the strange coincidence of my meeting a builder from an adjacent town in Maine at a garden show in San Francisco at which I was exhibiting. Ironically a few months later, Jay Dodge was helping me restore our home along the coast, and then three years ago was inviting me to visit he and his wife Darby at their home in Costa Rica.
Soon after arriving, my one partner and lifelong friend, Wayne McDonald and I were being introduced to the Dodge's neighbor from Brooklyn - Howie Kramer. Howie had made contact with a local farmer who owned a piece of land up in the mountains, and so on a lark, Wayne and I decided to take a look around...the rest is now history.I will interject many more "destiny" scenarios that have played out over the past three years with our project as the chapters unfold. Cumulatively they form a pretty powerful case for the concept of karma - something until recently I wasn't too certain about.
Thesis:
As Americans, most of us are fortunate enough to be able to make many lifestyle choices during the course of our day-to-day lives. How we spend our time, what we purchase, and how we invest our earnings collectively have a significant impact upon the lives of present and future generations of human beings and other species around the globe. Sound, long-term decision making now will help ensure a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable existence for America and the world. It is time to lead by example – as consumers we really do control our own destiny. Moving forward I truly believe the old saying “less is more” will become incredibly relevant.
Book Objectives:
To contrast the current societal issues, statistics and trends in the U.S. to the much more sustainable policies and lifestyles found in Costa Rica. The goal: To inspire and empower Americans in ways that will help them make decisions that will improve their quality of life now and ensure a more equitable, healthy, and peaceful world for all.
To contrast long-term vs. short-term thinking in the following ways:
How through the help of globalization and consumerism we have become a throw-away society.
How we are also losing the ability to think creatively and critically and no longer understand the world around us.
How Americans have become increasingly lazy and are willing to consistently trade the betterment of society (and our own health and well-being many times) for immediate short-term gratification.
How we are feeling more and more disenchanted with our current system and that as American citizens, we no longer feel empowered to affect change.
How our standard of living increase has dramatically shifted our society and the world.
How everything is cyclical – parallels will be made to other civilizations that declined as a result of short-sighted thinking within their societies.
Before we start, I need to get some things off my chest...
Listening to well known author, TV host of "The Nature of Things", and future thinker David Suzuki on public radio the other day, two words that were frequently repeated during a presentation he was putting on rang true in my ears – fear and growth. David and I are cut from the same cloth – pragmatic thinkers, probably both a bit out of
place and time. His theory (and mine) is that we have, for the past sixty years or so, been continuously bombarded by the media and our political leadership regarding the importance of continuing to grow the economy at what really has cumulatively been a torrid pace. All the while being kept in a constant state of fear of some bad guys – Russians, Iranians, Iraqis, Venezuelans, Cubans – the list goes on and on. The first thing President George Bush told us to do after 9-11 was to go back to the mall and shop. How absurd. Is this perpetual growth in consumption sustainable much longer? I think not. This book will help make a case for how we can do better with less and lead happier and healthier lives in the process.For example, why do we need continued economic growth? Over the past two generations we were simply trained to think this way on a mass scale. With global populations heading toward five billion, what impact to other species and the planet would continued "growth" as we know it inflict? With just 5% of the world's population, we as Americans consume over 25% of the resources currently being utilized. What happens when the other 95% percent decide they want to be like us? Research shows that the planet simply can't handle this.
Why does it seem in America that everything is being positioned in such a way to try and make us believe that more is better? Deena and I were discussing this the other night, and we both feel like things have become overblown in many aspects of life - more or less a "life on steroids". For example: Food spilling off our plates in restaurants, bigger pop-corns at the movies, and larger drink cups for even more soda every where you turn. McDonald's has now just launched the 1/3 pounder (it takes 1,000 gallons of water to produce just one pound of beef). Larger vehicles have recently come back in vogue due to lower gas prices. Temperatures in many stores and airports are frigid in the summertime (it takes a lot of energy just to make it one degree colder). I am handed 15 napkins when I ask for "a napkin", and have to tell check out clerks that I don't need a plastic bag for the single item I am purchasing. I also often observe guys in public restrooms taking three or four pulls on the paper towel dispenser when one will do. Why is more better? Is it really? Who says so? Why do we perceive it is our "right" to waste resources when many people around the world (including here in the U.S.) have little or nothing? My bet is that we should start getting used to making due with less. Not preaching, just my sense of where the world is heading.
The "tragedy of the commons" where resources are exploited as quickly as possible ("get as much as you can while you can" mentality) has been the norm with many societies for thousands of years. Natural resources such as forests, fisheries, and clean water are under constant assault by ever evolving technologies and the human species quest for food, shelter and energy. No longer is it a man with an ax, a fishing rod, or even a simple oil drilling rig - it is high technology timber harvesters that can grab and process an entire tree at once, or complex sonar and fishing gear that can sweep the oceans clear of most fish (including unwanted "bi-catch" that is ground up and fed to pets or farm raised fish), breaking the food chain and rendering areas like the Georges Banks all but void of once prevalent food species like cod.
Technology has also invaded the drilling industry as company's like Black Water invent proprietary cocktails of carcinogenic ingredients that include benzene, toluene and xylene. These are then pumped at high pressure with millions of gallons of "borrowed" surface water thousands of feet below ground, just to extract a few extra percentages of natural gas in a process called hydraulic fracturing or "fracing". Only approximately 70% of these liquids are recovered and then still have to be disposed of. Worst of all, these gas wells are drilled right through the underground water aquifers to the gas below. Would it be too much to ask to only drill in areas where groundwater would not be jeopardized and with traditional methods that would not utilize toxic chemicals? Sure seems like some very short sighted profiteering to me.
I mention this specifically as we are currently caught up in this scenario in upstate Pennsylvania at the location where my moss supply business has been running out of. With an incredibly pure water supply on the property and my current plans for starting an organic farm on the land (more about "Old School Farm" in future chapters), I am gravely concerned. It simply blows my mind that our state and federal governments would condone the drilling of thousands of wells in the Susquehanna River basin (feeds the Chesapeake bay), Delaware River Basin (drinking water for Philadelphia) and the Hudson River Basin (New York City). Just a very small amount of these highly toxic chemicals can irreparably damage underground aquifers and a significant loss of surface water can further compromise water quality and supply for fish and humans all along these most important watersheds.Unfortunately many area farmers have been faced with either signing these gas leases or sell out for housing developments - they simply can't make a go of it any more due to depressed milk prices and/or high property taxes. These depressed prices are most likely born out of government farm subsidies that reward very large operations in the midwest for mass production of commodity agricultural products - factory farms more or less. With gas leases, once one person signs on, the neighbors fall like dominoes.
Not that I am completely against gas drilling. It is a relatively clean burning fuel and is excellent for cooking and heating. My issue is more specifically with the use of the toxic chemicals in the extraction process and the fact that the gas and fracing fluids have to pass through the groundwater column.
Simply said, maybe we need to stop perceiving ourselves as superior to other species and stop trying to control the natural word. In his landmark book, Control of Nature, John McPhee predicted the levees breaking and the flooding of New Orleans by the Mississippi, and described other situations providing proof where man's attempt to control nature simply does not work. Our planet has been around a lot longer than we have and will always seek equilibrium - we simply cannot make it do what we want it to. Somehow we need to work towards existing in harmony with it.
The topic of bio mimicry has been very popular of late and is a huge step in the right direction. This concept focuses upon designing products and systems that are nature-based in their design orientation. A perfect example of this technique was a large high rise building recently constructed in Zimbabwe that mimics the building methods used by termites in constructing their mounds. Movable cooling flaps inside air chambers are used to keep buildings cool in the daytime and warm at night.
I will continue to inject ideas throughout this book as to how we can all be more thoughtful regarding how we approach living on our planet. I believe we need to think of it more like a giant bird nest we all share, and birds don't crap in their own nests.
As mentioned, this book will also contrast the place where my heart and soul feel content and at peace – Costa Rica, to the frazzled and fragmented, consumer-based lifestyle we lead here in the States. In particular, experiences will be shared for how my ambitious vision of a self-sufficient community in Costa Rica is taking shape and what I have realized and gleaned along the way. It is has really been an eye-opener from my perspective with respect to what is really important in life.
Book Goals:
Enlighten Americans
Unite Americans
Inspire Americans
Empower Americans
The Chapters:
1. Neighbors We Don’t Know
2. Built to Break
3. Overweight, yet Malnourished
4. Egos, Ethics, and Etiquette
5. Comfortably Numb
6. Liquid Assets
7. Education for the Masses
8. Wired
9. Fuzzy Math
10. The Shrinking Pie
Should You Read This Book?
You probably shouldn’t bother reading this if you feel any of the following statements to be true:
Our country is poised to sustain its’ dominant roll as an economic “super-power” for generations to come.
The current trend in the rate of consumption not only within the U.S., but in developing nations is sustainable over the long-term – technology can solve most all of our problems.
Our government always has the best interests of its citizens in mind, and will enact laws that protect people’s rights and freedoms both domestically and abroad.
Americans are happier, healthier, and living more meaningful lives than ever before.
The news you are receiving is non-biased, accurate, and the media has little to no agenda in the way it reports information.
We are at little risk of running out of natural resources, food, or water based on the current worldwide population growth rates.
Large multi-national corporations are really not guiding our country, our political leaders are ultimately setting policy.
So why a book about the impact of short-term thinking?
At first the reason was one closely related to my observations of just how far I felt our society was drifting away from what was truly important in life. Being a "utopian" of sorts, I more or less always have one foot in the future and am constantly striving to improve the quality of life for myself, my family and for the world in general in the future. It is often times a lonely place, as most people are much more focused on living in the moment. I respect that way of life as it has many positive attributes, and I join in pretty regularly, but a part of me is still always out there in the vast abyss of the great unknown - the future.
More recently my mindset has shifted a bit and I am feeling more of a sense of wanting to simplify. I feel a need to unplug more from the frantic pace which is modern life and go back to simpler way of being. I am also feeling an increasingly strong pull toward growing and or producing something - i.e. a farm. Ultimately these two lines of thinking have converged and have spurred me on to share (and vent) my feelings and frustrations in this book and press forward in Costa Rica and with a farm here in the States. After all, without a strong sense of purpose and truly meaningful bonds with other people on a daily basis, what do we really have?
About the Author:
Al Benner is an entrepreneur who has started several businesses, and currently owns three companies – two specialty consumer product/web businesses, and is lead partner for a self-sustaining residential development project in Costa Rica. Born and raised in the town of New Hope in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Al received a BS Degree in the Sciences from Delaware Valley College in nearby Doylestown. He later attended LaSalle University in Philadelphia, where he earned an MBA with a specialization in marketing.Married to Deena Seligsohn Benner, Al and his wife are raising three year old twin boys, Owen and Coleman, and residing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Benners also spend considerable time in the state of Maine, and in Costa Rica. In addition to his family, friends and business, Al enjoys good conversation, the outdoors, music, sports, hiking, fishing, reading, mentoring/teach entrepreneurship, travel, photography, film, gardening/farming, cooking, and meeting new and interesting people. This is his first "book".
Special Thanks:
To all those teachers, family, and friends that took the time to impart their knowledge, guidance, and life experiences, I am incredibly grateful. To my parents, Sue and Dave; the time, energy, and love that you have shared with me throughout my life have made me the person I am today, and to you both I am forever thankful. For my grandmother, “Dot”, your confidence in me, and your spirit will remain with me always. To my wife, Deena, I cherish your love and support for my never-ending new ideas and plans.Thanks also to Alexandra Buczek, Michael Fulton, Maeve Hopkins, and Joe Russakoff for their help providing background research, and contributed copy for this work.
Flashback - January, 2006: This is unedited copy from 2006. I have decided to include this section as part of the overview for the book, as I feel it sets the tone for why I embarked on this journey to begin with...
I find myself in a strange paradox. My wife, Deena is pregnant with twins, and I know I should be excited, but instead I am nervous. We married later in life, and now in our early forties, are faced with quite a challenge – raising two children at an older age during a time of great uncertainty. I am not as worried about my ability to rise to the occasion, as I pride myself in being a “go to guy”. What concerns me are the ever-increasing pressures our society places on children (and parents) and what type of world they and their kids will inherit after I am gone.Often times I feel like a stranger to this place and time. I find it increasingly frustrating to watch Americans making incredibly short-sighted decisions without any regard to the long-term impact those choices might be having upon the future of the world we all share. It seems everyone is in a rush – but to what end?
The book you are about to digest is not intended to be alarming or negative; instead, it has been composed to inform and inspire. The insight you may glean from the ten chapters (one released each month) may open your mind to a new way of interpreting the world around you, and perhaps inspire you to share your perspective with others or influence your own lifestyle in ways that may benefit you and your family now and perhaps future generations.
An “optimistic realist” is how I would best describe myself. My glasses are often rose-colored, and for better or worse, I typically observe only the good in people and situations. After spending forty two years on this planet; the vast majority of it within the cozy confines of what has been not so eloquently described as the world’s dominant “super power”, I have come to realize that things probably aren’t nearly as “rosy” as they often appear.
I am no literary scholar. In fact, my high school English teacher, Mr. Cheeseman would be shocked to even be reading this, considering my friends once turned in a stack of blank papers with my name on it as my final term paper my senior year. (My refusing to even write a paper I attribute simply to the adolescent rebellion I was experiencing at the time). No, my role and the purpose for writing this book are simple: To share life experiences and observations supported by facts, statistics and information that will help shed light on the current state of American society. Much of what you will read you may already consciously or subconsciously relate to. When this information is presented comprehensively, revealing just how pervasive short-term gratification has become in our culture, it may grab your attention in a profound way.
As an entrepreneur with a flare for marketing, my talents revolve around anticipating the latest wants and needs of consumers. More and more I am noticing all sorts of indications that Americans are frustrated, edgy, and unhappy. They’re not exactly sure why, but something tells them that the world around them is changing rapidly, and they are uncertain if they are comfortable with their role and the frantic pace at which they are living their lives.
Like the perpetual rising and setting of the sun, the repetition and routine in our day-to-day lives (no matter how bazaar or disturbing) becomes accepted. Over time we stop asking “why” – it is human nature, a survival instinct to acclimate, tolerate, and adapt. In our modern American society this can best be classified as “desensitization”. The frightening reality of this theory is just what we are becoming desensitized to – nothing seems to surprise or shock us anymore. The implications created by the short-term decisions we are making to function in this fast paced, disconnected environment, are in my opinion, very concerning.
Americans by nature are resistant to change - we hold steadfast to what we perceive to be our “inalienable” rights. But perhaps we need to be a little more empathetic – put ourselves in the other guy’s shoes for a change. Maybe our way of life isn’t the best way for everyone. Many indigenous people have thrived happily on this planet for thousands of years with little change in their lifestyles, and even less impact upon their environment. The American Indian tradition associated with the Iroquois Nation dictates that no person should conduct themselves in a manner that would bring harm to those persons seven generations in the future. They believe everything is connected. There is a reverence for the land, the water, the plants and animals – not the mall or the trendy subdivision. My wife and I were married by a Micmac elder on the coast of Maine.
Our species has been hunter gatherers for 99.9% of our time on this planet. Might it be possible that we are “advancing” too fast for our own good? I don’t think our genes can keep up. The reality is its unlikely technology will slow. It will most likely come down to how we utilize this technology and, or how it may use us, that will dictate the ultimate success or failure of our society and species for that matter.
When my grandchildren open their American History books in the year 2050, I may or may not be still walking this fine planet. Either way I can only hope that in the early part of this century, enough Americans cared to start thinking, speaking out, and taking action so that the last chapter my grandchildren read refers to our country in the present tense and not the past…
Ben Franklin, a man I greatly admire for his entrepreneurial talents and dogged determination to enhance the lives of his fellow countrymen once said: “There are three kinds of people in this world: Those who are immovable, those who can be moved, and those who move”. Which one will you be? Read on and perhaps you may become inspired - our children are watching and hoping.
Chapter 1 - Neighbors We Don’t Know
I begin with this chapter, as I feel it sets the stage for those that follow. The interactions that occur at the local community level and in the home have always been a good indicator of the American way of life. What has happened to most communities in the U.S. over the past fifty years indicates that by becoming more withdrawn and insular, Americans are interacting with each other less. This appears to be having a profound impact upon our culture. The words isolated and apathy come to mind. We are all more or less in our own cocoons in many ways.
This chapter will examine how communities helped shape our nation and how the lack thereof in recent years has fostered a myriad of challenges. We will also be taking a closer look at the breakdown in the nuclear family and it's impact upon our children and society as a whole. I like to bounce around between statistics here in the U.S., my own personal experiences, and life in Costa Rica, so get ready to bob and weave a bit...
Having grown up in a somewhat “utopian”, semi-rural setting in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, I was fortunate to enjoy the best of both worlds – a still relatively strong local agrarian community in a time of more modern conveniences. Now when I visit I notice a significant change to the area in which I spent my formidable years, as many “McMansions” and subdivisions blanket what was once some of the most productive farmland in the region. The entire area now feels more fragmented and sterile; something that I believe has occurred throughout our nation beginning in the 1950’s. “Suburbia” has invaded, replete with strip centers, traffic lights, water towers, mucho blacktop and concrete, and of course those ubiquitous “golden arches”. If you didn’t know what town or state you were in before you went to bed each night, your location would be hard to determine the next morning.
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines “community” as a “unified body of individuals”. A “market” is defined as a “meeting together of people for the purpose of trade by private purchase and sale”. America is becoming more and more of a market and less and less of a community every day. If you were born before 1965, the type of community you grew up in probably has become a distant memory. If you were born later, you probably do not know what it is like to grow up in a traditional community, and there is a good chance you have experienced a fracturing of your household as a child. As cohesive communities and families become a thing of the past, they are only experienced nostalgically by many people through the prism of television and movies.
Traditional communities and families provided a strong support system in times of need. They also instilled a sense of belonging and identity. Today, millions of Americans feel lost and insignificant in a changing world where everything is temporary and nothing is certain. Familiar stores close up and are replaced by “big box superstores”. Communities become more like revolving doors with neighbors moving in and out. Family disintegration is almost expected. Things we cherish seem as temporary as an image on a computer screen. We turn to pharmaceutical companies to fill the emptiness we feel, and seek a sense of community online or through purchasing clothes, music, or other consumer products that give us a sense of identity. These are typically poor substitutes for a true sense of belonging, and more often than not only provide a brief window of fulfillment.
Perhaps we could all learn a lot from the people and government of Costa Rica. In the recently completed Happy Planet Index study (www.happyplanetindex.org), Costa Rica came in first of all the countries in the world for its people’s level of “happiness”. Having personally spent considerable time in this special place, I can speak from experience when I say I have never seen more smiling faces, or more friendly, helpful, and hard working people. There is a strong family connection and sense of local community here, with family and neighbors forming very tight bonds and helping one another. Consumption here is at sustainable levels and the country is pledging to be carbon neutral in the coming years. The Nicoya peninsula region of Costa Rica where our project is located is home to one of the highest densities of centenarians in the world – see the ABC News study at: http://www.bluezones.com/. It is a known fact that happy people live longer. Something to think about since the U.S. has now sunk to number 114 out of 143 countries on the Happy Planet Index. I can only think there is good reason that I feel a sense of calm and positive energy whenever my plane touches down on Costa Rican soil.What makes up a Community?
Our family is a bit nomadic for sure, spending summers in Maine and a couple months each winter in Costa Rica (most of the work my wife and I do can be done remotely provided we have a phone and high speed internet). The remainder of the time finds us in a house we rent on the edge of the city of Philadelphia. The Mt. Airy section of the city is renowned for its diversity. Juxtaposed between the affluent Chestnut Hill section and the more rough and tumble Germantown area, Mt. Airy is a community that abuts the edge of the largest city park in the country – Fairmount Park. I often take my boys for hikes along the Wissahickon Creek on one of the many trails that crisscross the hillsides. I can walk to the gym, to restaurants, and a neighborhood food co-op is just a few blocks away.
As far as communities go it is enjoyable – neighbors exchange pleasantries and the older neighborhood has mature arching street trees for shade. We are less than one hundred yards from a train station that can whisk us to center city in twenty five minutes. In summary we are fortunate to reside in such a place, but yet there is still a disconnection for me. Perhaps much of this feeling is due to the fact that we are not year round residents, but it could also be due to the high percentage of rental properties on our block - people in transition. People on the move and in flux are less likely to take the time to make commitments to relationships. More than ever people are moving regularly in the U.S. – much of it due to the frequency at which Americans now change employers and careers. I also believe that our own life expectations are partially to blame for lack of commitment to our own communities. We all expect a lot more out of life than previous generations – myself included. Speaking from experience, I have so many things going on in my life (by choice most of it) that I typically can’t seem to find time for community activities. Making more friends in my neighborhood would be counter-productive, as I am already challenged just keeping up with my own closest friends and family.
An example of this lack of community stands out in my mind. A few months ago Deena attempted to organize a block party of sorts for neighbors to meet and become better acquainted. Of the twenty or so invites that went out, only two people responded. Needless to say, there was no block party on West Mt. Airy Avenue.
So is there a way to combine the security that families and communities supplied in the past with the freedom that recent technological and economic advances offer? If one is to be found, I think we will need to reign in our appetites for instant personal gratification, slow down, and look to the past for clues.
America has always been a country on the go where people have been free to seek a better life for themselves in a new environment. Great migrations are a major part of our heritage. Whether it was the pioneers moving westward in the nineteenth century, Blacks and other southerners moving northward in the 1930s and 1940s, or northerners moving southward and westward more recently, these population shifts define the periods of our national story as much as the wars we studied in history class.
In the past, these migrations have created legendary communities. The close knit frontier town, peopled by pioneers who looked out for each other is a beloved piece of Americana. When Europeans immigrated to America around the turn of the twentieth century, neighborhoods such as Little Italy in New York were established, and are still remembered with great nostalgia. The Black migration north saw the rise of strong communities which nurtured such cultural movements as the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s. Even the much maligned post World War II shift of populations from cities to suburbia had a folksy Ozzie and Harriet feel associated with it.
People are still ready to move to better their lot in America. The 2000 census revealed that over 22 million Americans changed their state of residence between 1995 and 2000. About half of these migrants moved to a different region of the country. When the dust settled, it turned out that people tended to move from the Northeast and Midwest to the South and West, although millions of people moved with no particular pattern. These figures do not include people who changed their residence within the same state. In total, out of a population of about 262 million Americans over the age of five, 140 million people, including 41.25 million children, moved across town or across country in that period.
But there is something different about the communities that are being created with the recent shuffling around of great masses of people. It is something that is hard to quantify. People live near each other, but are often strangers.
Interestingly our neighbors at our property in the rural area of Northeastern Pennsylvania where I run my moss supply company from (we rent our home in Philadelphia) are the exact opposite. Even though the typical space between homes is typically a half mile or so, the first thing that happened after I purchased the property over five years ago was my neighbors all showed up bearing food and wine wanting to introduce themselves. We have since become good friends with several of them, and there is a strong sense of community and responsibility to each other. If something ever happened, I know I could count on them for help, and vice versa. It feels good – the way it should be.
The same holds true in Costa Rica. The small villages that surround the property where we are establishing our community are close knit, with individuals relying heavily on family, neighbors and other town residents for all types of support, services, goods, and food. Most people live out their lives in the same community to which they were born into. The recent change to this has been a significant number of Ticas (Costa Rican women) traveling to the larger cities like San Jose to attend university.
In these small villages a significant amount of barter and trade occurs, with each family carving out it’s own area of specialization, and then trading their goods (usually food) with other families for those necessities that they have an abundance of. This creates a “we’re in it together” mindset, where everyone is helping to support each other locally. We are looking to replicate this exact model within the Finca Las Brisas community and throughout the surrounding area – an old fashioned, self-sufficient barter and trade system.
In most suburban areas in the U.S. however, homes are increasingly viewed as a financial investment as opposed to a personal investment in a community. Big box stores have replaced corner stores. Individuals are often oblivious to each other in public as they chat on cell phones or type on wireless devices. Rudeness seems more common, and basic considerations have become increasingly rare. Living in the moment in ones’ own world has become the norm.
There are technological and economic reasons behind these trends. While there are a myriad of products and services that are now available to satisfy the momentary whims of individuals, the bonds that tie communities together are unraveling. Many of these changes are the result of planning for short-term profits by businesses. Suburban sprawl is a prime example of short term planning. It offers quick profits for real estate developers, a piece of the “country” life for families, and it is changing the nature of American communities.
Suburban sprawl is the all too frequent practice of reckless spreading out of metropolitan areas. Not just the mere construction of suburbs, but how they are built and where they are placed - far apart from each other, and with no center of town. “Leapfrogging” is a technique developers, have used for years with the acquiescence of local governments. This aggravates problems associated with urban sprawl, since developers skip over empty land close to an urban area and build communities on cheaper land further away. It costs less in the short term, but increases the negative environmental and social impacts of urban sprawl – i.e. more traffic and wasted productive farmland.
The Clean Water Action Council, a non-profit citizen organization founded in 1985, has been looking at these issues for a while and lists some of the results of urban sprawl on their website, cwac.net. In the most recent data we could find, it reports that 13.7 million acres of farmland had been converted to non farm use between 1992 and 1997, a figure 51% higher than the previous five year period. Another major challenge that is exacerbated by our ever-expanding suburbia is storm water runoff. According to the USDA over 2 billion tons of topsoil is lost to erosion in the U.S. each year. Storm water accumulates on any paved or impervious surface (parking lots, roads, roofs, etc) and then finds its way to our streams and rivers which are more and more frequently leaving their banks and flooding. There are now new technologies and systems available that will perform the function of a paving surface but at the same time be pervious, allowing for drainage. It is surprises me that this type of technology has yet to become standard practice.
With communities spread so far apart, the use of cars is essential for even the smallest tasks. There aren’t many corner stores in suburban developments - they aren’t included in the plans. You might end up using a gallon of gas to get a quart of milk. People go from their houses to their cars and from their cars to their houses without seeing much of their neighborhood besides their driveways. Neighbors don’t see much of each other. Ironically, people in these developments may be more likely to recognize their neighbors’ cars than their neighbors.
Contrast this to our mountain in Costa Rica where neighbors all know each other (many are often seen on horseback) and life is rolling along at a much slower pace. At first this was challenging for me, as I felt little seemed to be getting accomplished. After a while however, I realized it is a much less stressful and in many ways better way to live one’s life. I feel much more at peace in this country, my stress levels drop considerably, and as of yet I still haven’t had a check (la cuenta) placed on my table at a restaurant unless I asked for it. Sounds like something insignificant, but I can’t tell you how much more enjoyable it is to request the check on your terms. You never feel like your table is about to be turned while you are ordering dessert.
Back in the States, many townships are now beginning to take action to preserve the look and feel of their communities. My parents still live in the same house I grew up in. As previously mentioned, it is located in what has recently become a pricey “bedroom community” located midway between Philadelphia and New York. The leadership in Solebury Township should be commended for its’ foresight in acquiring over 2,000 acres of prime Bucks County farmland over the past several years, and placing it permanently into conservation trust, ensuring it will remain open space or farmland for future generations. This endeavor is having a profound impact upon the township, enhancing quality of life, and significantly raising property values.
With the growth of suburban sprawl, came the advent of the superstore, best epitomized by Wal-mart, and the demise of the small locally owned business. Wal-mart is now America’s largest employer, with 1.3 million American employed at an average income of $10.68 an hour. There is obviously something Americans like about Wal-mart. Prices are lower and it can be more convenient to do all ones’ shopping at just a single location.
Small businesses cannot compete on price with huge retailers because of the larger stores’ ability to buy in mass quantities from manufacturers (often overseas) and get better deals. In addition, large retailers have sophisticated market research departments that anticipate consumer habits. When a superstore opens up in a town, it is usually just a matter of time before local small businesses start closing down. Downtowns become deserted as shoppers flock to get bargains at the superstore built on cheap land at the edge of town.
Something intangible is lost when a small neighborhood store closes - a certain “humanness” where the customer isn’t dwarfed by the immensity of a huge retail operation. The shopping experience was different. Shoppers interacted directly with the business owner, who took an interest in every sale. There was more equality between the business owner and customer, and every store had its own personality. It was common for a few locals with nothing better to do to be hanging around some old time stores. While it would sometimes make people uncomfortable knowing they would be the subject of a meandering gossip session after they left, these old timers hanging out at the gas station or barber shop were yet another strand in the community, passing on local gossip, news, opinions, life experiences, wisdom, and keeping an eye on the neighborhood. We have a local village store we can walk to here in Brooksville, Maine, as well as a nearby barbershop with $6 haircuts for our boys.
Clossens barbershop is something right out of a Norman Rockwell painting, replete with Richard Clossen wearing his clam digging boots and privy to the latest town news. I told him he should have his own radio show – he chuckled. “The locals already think the place is bugged by the feds” he joked (or did he?)
Huge retailers realize that people miss this hominess that small stores and shops provide, and try to set corporate policy to approximate it. There are the smiley face symbols all over the place. And then there are the poor souls hired as “greeters”, who welcome you to the sterile superstore. But it is not the same as the real thing as I can attest, having refused to patronize Walmart stores for three years now. More than anything I simply felt depressed being in these stores. I’m not judging here, they just aren’t for me anymore.
The old fashioned walk to the corner for a quart of milk, no longer an option for many Americans, served a function besides getting the milk. You would pass your neighbors on the way and see who they were and how they were doing. You could see if they were happy or sad, if they were sick, and catch up on neighborhood news. Now people just pass each other in cars on the freeway and push shopping carts around anonymously in huge stores, the only human contact coming when they are waiting impatiently in line to check out.
The past two Januarys have seen the FLB partners rent a small casita in Carrillo, Costa Rica. While our community is taking shape, being within walking distance to one of the most beautiful beaches imaginable is a great way to shorten the winter up north while being close by to oversee firsthand the goings on at the finca. One of the most enjoyable experiences for me has been my early morning or evening walk to the nearby family grocery store. There is just something about walking to a store that feels right.
This is not to say in the old days that everyone had fascinating neighbors. Or even friendly neighbors. Or even neighbors they could stand. But there was a social web and a necessary civility. In the society that is taking shape we are losing that. If someone knows they are likely never to see you again, they will be more likely to flash you an obscene gesture in traffic or cut in front of you in line at the supermarket.
On the positive side, there has been a growing movement in recent years to control urban sprawl and restore a sense of community. Ventura County in California overwhelmingly passed an initiative to prevent local planners from re-zoning farmland and open spaces without first getting the approval of voters. Peninsula County in Michigan pays farmers to keep doing what they do instead of selling their land to developers for subdivision. Washington and Oregon require local communities to develop long range Urban Growth Boundaries. All across the country, there is a grass roots movement to improve the areas that are being developed, rather than to continue spreading out.
Urban neighborhoods are facing different kinds of challenges. The much ballyhooed housing boom in many cities is eroding many neighborhoods. Long time renters are being forced out and longtime homeowners are cashing out to make way for condos and gentrification, and the old neighborhoods that attracted the newcomers in the first place are disappearing. A yuppie culture and a culture of poverty exist side by side, complete strangers, preying on each other. Yuppies are losing their wallets and low income people are losing their communities.
Some urban neighborhoods have become reverse prison camps, with criminals roaming free and law abiding citizens locked up inside. Open air drug markets carry on business all hours of the day and night in what used to be close-knit communities. Evening news reports are filled with stories of shootouts between rival gangs battling over turf. It is no longer safe for children to play outside. Residents take their lives in their hands when they step out of their homes. Urban communities are dying under these conditions.
The government is responding with an ineffectual “war on drugs.” With the use of illegal drugs so high, this amounts to the United States waging war against itself. According to the New York Times, as of 2008, for the first time in the nation’s history, one in every one hundred adult Americans is now incarcerated. That’s equivalent to 1.6 million people. Over seven million more are on probation, according to the Department of Justice. Drug offenders now account for 58% of the incarcerated population. In the past 20 years, according the FBI, violent crimes fell by 25 percent, to 464 for every 100,000 people in 2007 from 612.5 in 1987. This all comes at a price. To keep all these people in prison it is costing states approximately 7% of their entire budgets. With dwindling tax revenues it appears this will be all but impossible to maintain moving forward.
This get tough strategy is popular, but has not been working. Slogans like “zero tolerance” and “three strikes you’re out” will not win back our urban neighborhoods. Locking up drug users and dealers doesn’t even work in the short term. It adds to the problem, as a criminal culture grows in prisons, and those caught up in the drug world have yet another obstacle to becoming productive members of their communities.
Changing our strategy of dealing with drugs is not to condone their use. However, in a city like Philadelphia where lower paying service jobs are primarily the only ones available, it is not hard to understand why dealing drugs is attractive to so many inner city youths. And in a culture that places such a high value on instant gratification and materialism, it is not hard to understand why drugs are so prevalent.
If stamping out the drug trade is a pre-requisite to rescuing our urban neighborhoods, we should invest at least as much in treating drug users as we do on locking them up. But in a sense, that would be treating the symptom and not the sickness. More money must be spent to rebuild neighborhood infrastructures and on public education. According to http://www.costofwar.com/, as of July 2009, we have spent six hundred and sixty seven billion dollars to destroy and rebuild Iraq. Given these numbers, it seems we can surely find enough money to save our own cities since we found all that money to “save” Iraq. By contrast, Costa Rica has had no military since 1948, with the majority of their tax base being directed to healthcare for all, renewable energy (over 93%), and a quality education system on par with the U.S. Some solid long-term thinking for sure.
Global economic changes are dramatically impacting our inner cities. Manufacturing jobs, a traditional economic support of urban blue collar neighborhoods, have been moving overseas. According to a 2008 article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, between 1979 and 2007 the number of U.S. manufacturing jobs declined from 19.4 million to 14.0 million. A good part of this can be attributed to technology and the associated gains in efficiency, but nonetheless, the effects upon urban America have been devastating. Lower paying service sector jobs have replaced manufacturing jobs, making it harder and harder for a breadwinner to support a family. Families are the basic units of communities, and they too are fracturing. According to the 2000 census, single person households now outnumber family households. While living alone gives an individual greater personal freedom, it also takes away one of the greatest support systems available for physical, emotional, and economic well being – a partner.
The Nuclear Family…
It’s trickier than one might assume to get reliable statistics about the state of families in America. If we compare the number of marriages to the number of divorces per thousand people in our population, then we could get a high failure rate. In 2003, there were 75 marriages and 38 divorces per thousand people, according to a study by the National Center for Health Statistics. That method gives us the oft quoted figure of about half of marriages ending in divorce. This method is flawed somewhat, because the newly married people join a growing married segment of the population, while the newly divorced segment is growing at a slower rate. If we want a rosier picture of family life, one method is to change the way we calculate statistics.
In 2005, The New York Times reported that the failure rate for marriages in America is closer to 41%, still not a figure to celebrate. However the rates are calculated, the trend over the last thirty or forty years is the same. There was a sharp increase in the divorce rate in the 1970s and the divorce rate has gradually stabilized somewhere around 45 percent.
Data from the 2000 Census gives a stark picture of the state of American families. The following statistics, collected from that census, appear on The Council on Contemporary Families’ website (CCF is an organization of researchers and mental health professionals):
· Two-parent households increased 6 percent since 1990. In contrast mother headed households grew by 25 percent. Single mother households now make up 7 percent of all households.
· For the first time ever, less than a quarter of American households consist of nuclear families. Married couples with children now make up 24 percent of all households, compared to 39 percent in 1990.
· One of the most dramatic developments is a sharp increase in families headed by unmarried partners. Nationally, the number of unmarried partners grew by 71 percent during the 1990s.
My Tico friends in Costa Rica aren’t fairing much better. 2008 census results from around the world show their country with the 9th highest rate of divorce per 1,000 residents – 3.58. The U.S. however is fairing even worse, with 4.19 divorces per 1,000 residents, and has the 3rd highest rate in the world behind the Maldives and Belarus.
Perhaps the high numbers in Costa Rica can be attributed to the strong North American influence that has come about due to the booming Costa Rican tourism industry. This is certainly having a significant impact upon lifestyles in the large and more densely populated beach towns and metropolitan areas of the central valley. It is also in these areas where drugs and crime are much higher.
In the small, agrarian communities where we are located, these problems are incredibly rare. So rare in fact, that when I received a recent update of “Life in Zaragoza” from our friend and neighbor, Howie Kramer (originally from Brooklyn, but now living above us on the mountain in Costa Rica full time), I was quite surprised to be reading what he had written. First let me start by saying Howie is possibly one of the most gifted writers I have come across. Sure he drops the “f-bomb” a few too many times, but that is part of his shtick. His command of the English language and descriptions of comical day-to-day life experiences in Costa Rica are incredibly funny. He is also quite perceptive and has an edgy, sarcastic point of view that is interesting to say the least. Anyway, Howie’s most recent “chapter” of his soon to be released journal focused upon a string of burglaries that had occurred in his small town of Zaragoza. This type of thing is so uncommon that the entire community was thrown into disarray – trust had been breached. The peace and tranquility that is Zaragoza had been tarnished.
The robberies had all occurred over a short period of time when town meetings were going on, or school was finishing up and virtually everyone from the town was attending one of these events. The thieves made a poor choice in burglarizing the home of one of the leading families in the area, and upon closer inspection it became apparent that it was an “inside job” – accomplished by a group of teenage school kids who, working with a “fence” in the nearby beach town of Nosara were able to move the items they stole (until they got caught). Here is a short snippet taken from Howie’s recent email and his take on the situation:
“This group surely had no intelligence...a rash of robberies over a three week period while everyone was on school vacation...the last one in the house of the Deacon of the Catholic Church...one of the boys who broke in lived next door. A pathetic showing, for sure.
All over the world...teenagers, as a group, are always fucking up...always getting into mischief...but the behavior of this group of teens possibly sends a more ominous message of moral decay and total lack of respect...maybe more proof that hip hop music and reggaeton...and all the shit that they watch on Tico TV...is getting in the way of their normal development...impairing it to the point of possibly producing a generation of virtually useless youth. You don’t have to live in the ghetto anymore to be a fucking gangsta’. The hip hop group “50 Cents”...their name indicating only what it costs to kill a man...this is the vibe resonating today throughout all of our youthful society. 50 Cents...only what it costs to kill a whole generation”.
Howie doesn’t pull any punches, but the good news is that the community of Zaragoza was so outraged by the lack of respect associated with these incidents, that they rounded up all the possible suspects (it’s a very small town) and then got them singing. The guilty teens have been identified and the expectations are that this was a one time incident in this otherwise utopian mountain village. What I like about this story is how the community came together to nip the problem in the bud and take responsibility for their youth – a good example for how our own culture could address these type of issues on the local level.
Back to divorce….
With respect to divorce rates in the U.S. there were many factors that went into the sharp increase during the last half of the twentieth century; the much cited “permissive society” being only one. Technology changed the nature of work, allowing more women to enter the work force and not be dependant on their husbands for economic survival. With more machines doing most of the hard work, not as many jobs needed the male’s upper body strength. The introduction of computers was also a great gender equalizer. Both men and women are equally capable of typing on a keyboard. New forms of birth control, especially “The Pill”, took away one of the main reasons for getting married and staying married. Then there is legalized abortion.
Legal changes have transformed the nature of marriage. No-fault divorce laws have made ending a marriage much less complicated. Pre-nuptial agreements also became popular; another sign that society recognized that marriage was no longer necessarily a permanent arrangement. At the same time, legal decisions awarding “palimony” to live-in partners helped legitimize non-marital cohabitation. The line between being married and living together became fuzzier, more of a formality than of practical reality.
The easier access to divorce is not a totally bad thing. It is impossible to calculate how many millions or billions of people were trapped in unhappy marriages in the past because of an impulsive decision they made when they were barely out of adolescence, or because they were pressured into it by their families, or because someone got pregnant, or just because they felt it was the thing to do at the time. One of the staples of comedians for years have been wife jokes or husband jokes. There’s the Moms Mabley joke, for instance, “My husband was so ugly, he had a job standing outside of a doctor’s office and making people sick.” Henny Youngman made a career out of his “Take my wife, please!” shtick. Comic strips such as Andy Capp and The Lockhorns lampooned miserable marriages. This humor struck a cord in a population which did not have divorce as a viable option.
While divorce was not an option, there were other ways of dealing with an unhappy marriage. Counseling had not yet become common. But you could get drunk, beat your wife, nag your husband, argue endlessly, and generally make each other miserable. And if none of these worked, you could always kill your spouse. It is a well known maxim of law enforcement, that when someone is murdered, the first suspect is always the spouse. These strategies were hardly more favorable to divorce.
While marriage at any cost is not necessarily a good thing, a properly functioning marriage is, for the individuals who are married, as well as society at large, usually a positive influence. Married people live longer. A study by Sociology Professor Linda J. Waite showed that only about 60% of divorced, widowed, or never married people make it to age 65, while 90% of married people live long enough to collect Social Security. (Of course, these figures may not be what they seem, because if someone has serious health problems to begin with, they may be less likely to marry.) Still, it’s not difficult to imagine why being married would be healthier. You are living with someone who is aware of your habits and appearance, and in all likelihood is not reticent about offering an opinion. A spouse is likely to notice and comment if you are getting chubbier, if you look sick, or if bad habits like drinking or smoking are getting out of hand.
There is also a non-tangible benefit associated with marriage. A Pew Foundation study done in 2005 reported that 43% of married people described themselves as “very happy”, while only 24% of unmarried people did. I do think the answer to this question is skewed based on timing – ask a newly wed what they think of the institution and then ask parents of twin three year old boys, and I am sure you will get very different answers. Nonetheless, I do feel the institution can be a huge success, but if and only if you end up with the right person at the right time. My wife and I both agreed that had we met each other ten years earlier we would have not been as likely to make a permanent commitment to each other, as we were not mentally ready to do so. From my experience, the bottom line seems to be pretty simple: marry the right person, at the right time, for the right reasons. This is easier said than done.
The family is still the main social and economic unit in our culture. Two people agree to take care of each other and raise the next generation; a very simple concept. With lax divorce laws, the decline of religious institutions, economic independence for women, more individual freedoms, the preservation of marriage depends now more than ever on personal commitment.
A movement has been afoot in recent years called Divorce Reform. It seeks to save marriage by doing away with no-fault divorce, making a divorce more complicated and difficult to get. This “one size fits all” solution would probably do little more than trap millions of people in unhappy marriages. Of course it might save some marriages that are threatened by normal stage-of-life issues such as mid-life crisis. But only those in a marriage know if there is nothing left in the relationship worth saving. Divorce Reform would be a major government intrusion into people’s personal lives. States should carefully consider the consequences before enacting these reforms.
Perhaps the answer to saving marriages in America lies not in controlling how they end, but understanding how they start. According to The National Center for Health Statistics, the divorce rate drops by ten percent if couples wait until after they are twenty-five to get married. Instead of youths marrying on impulse or in order to get out of their parents house, they should be encouraged to wait until they see in what direction their lives are going.
Couples should also understand that getting married isn’t like waving a magic wand that will make their lives secure. Marriage is only one piece of the puzzle. In a way, it is one of the easier steps because there is so much social support and encouragement for a couple when a couple walks down the aisle. The real test comes after the honeymoon is over - when spouses must make sacrifices and compromises to make the relationship work. There is a reward for these sacrifices and compromises, but couples must understand that there is a quid pro quo going in. If spouses could keep this in mind throughout their marriages, then the institution could be strengthened.
I personally married later in life, and at age 42 finally got around to starting a family. And an “instant family” it certainly is. I went from being single to having a family of four all in the span of less than two years – phew! My primary observation thus far is simple: for a marriage with children (twins in our case) to be a success, you must be able to let the small stuff roll off your back. Empathy seems to be the key. Sometimes the smallest gesture towards my wife can really make her day and relieve tension. In this day and age of self-focused orientation, maintaining a healthy relationship, a successful career, and properly caring for children can be incredibly challenging.
There have been times when it crossed my mind how it would be quite easy just to walk away when things got tough. But if one steps back and considers the long-term impact this would have upon someone you committed your entire life to, the children, and yourself for that matter, it becomes clear that it makes a lot more sense to work out your differences and move forward. Perhaps many people are just giving up too easily. After all, more often than not, nothing worthwhile comes easily. In this age of immediate gratification, it is often difficult to project oneself into the future, and make family decisions based upon long-term goals and results. It has become my opinion that once we decide to have children we need to shift not only our self-focus, but even more importantly our expectations - it really isn’t all about you or me any more – it’s more about our kids.
A side note: More and more often I see parents negotiating with children as if they were adults. Caving in to a child’s every whim does nobody any good in the long run. I remember a few years ago when my wife and I took my Operations Manager at the time and his wife (parents of eleven children) out for brunch. Bill’s one statement has stayed with me – “You need to be in charge – do not negotiate with your children. Clearly define your rules and be consistent enforcing them”. Bill’s kids are some of the brightest and most well mannered children I have ever met.
Technical Difficulties…
There has been an infusion of new technology into the population in the past fifteen years that continues to have a profound impact upon our culture, and in particular how families and communities interact. Communication advances such as cell phones and the internet help diminish the distances between people who are geographically far apart. Yet these devices tend to be self-consuming in nature - people become oblivious to what is going on around them as they walk or drive around while chatting on their cell phone, or staring at a computer screen.
When the internet left academia and entered homes about fifteen years ago, there was much discussion of how it would create a global village. It has done much to cause alienation in actual villages, but the whole global village thing is still a bit shaky. All across the country, indeed all around the world, hundreds of millions of people conduct large portions of their lives on-line, with a machine that is designed to be used by one person and one person only. For every hour they are typing on their keyboards and staring at a screen, there is someone else being deprived of their companionship.
It could be argued that home computing frees up time so that families have more time to spend together, but in reality time saved balancing a check book or paying bills online tends to free more time for doing other things online. It is so easy to lose track of time while “surfing the net” (a misnomer if there ever was one). Besides actually “surfing”, much time is spent waiting for programs to download, dealing with lost connections, and other phenomenon of the age of the internet that can keep the person using the computer transfixed, oblivious to what is going on in the “real” world.
Images such as smiley faces are often used on web sites to try to humanize the internet experience. A smiley face icon is no substitute for a real human smile. Or perhaps more importantly, the excessive internet user may not even notice the faces around him aren’t smiling any more.
When I visit Costa Rica I am always rejuvenated by all the “real” smiling faces. The interesting thing I have noticed is that the further one gets from the larger cities or over-built beach communities, the happier people seem to be – even though they appear to have “less”. The small towns of Naranjal and Zaragosa immediately above where our community is taking shape just got electricity two years ago. As crazy as it sounds, I would venture to guess that they were better off without it. Instead of learning firsthand about the natural world by being immersed in it and from experience sharing with their elders, many Tico children are now relying on the television for more and more of their life experiences (TV’s are always very loud in Costa Rica - they are always turned up to decibel levels that compromise one’s hearing for some reason). Video game use by Tico children also appears to be proliferating in these recently electrified small towns. I see the culture and strong community structure beginning to erode due to electricity coming into these communities.
Not that electricity, TV, and, or video are bad things - they are tools with wonderful benefits. It just all depends on how we decide to use the technology (or in many cases not use it). Relying upon TV or videos as a full time baby sitter in my mind may not always be the best choice. Don’t get me wrong, there are times when my boys watch movies and times when I utilize the DVD player as a device to enable me to get dinner ready more easily. I do believe however, that how often, with whom, and what is being watched are in my opinion all very important things to consider.
At our community in Costa Rica we made the decision to stay off- grid, and are running the entire project so far with solar-powered systems. These are functioning incredibly well. By not dragging power poles and heavy copper wire up the mountain an additional mile and a half, we feel we are helping the environment and at the same time helping to slow development in the region and perhaps preserving the local area a bit more as it is. We do see value in establishing power to the school for a computer, some lights and fans, and will be working on this using solar panels in the future. A TV or video game programs will not be part of that budget.
Here in the States we have grid power in most areas and even the most remote locations can now typically tap into some form of internet connection. But how “human” are these anonymous online communities that are being created? Attempts at online community, friendliness, and netiquette often seem forced or contrived, with people appearing and disappearing and hiding behind their anonymity. The nastiness that can permeate the web is not. Discussion boards, particularly about controversial issues, often degenerate into “flame wars”, or the trading of insults. Any discussion on the conflict in the Mideast, for instance, is filled with racist anti-Semitic and anti-Arab dialogue. It is often impossible to have a civil discussion online about sensitive issues when so many hate filled people are able to hide in this cloak of anonymity.
A recent development on the internet is the advent of chat rooms and more recently the proliferation of text messaging. Chat rooms are an attempt to counterbalance the isolation felt by many people in the computer age by creating interactive on line communities which aren’t limited by geographical proximity. While academics have been sending messages to each other using programs like PLATO since the 1970s, ICQ, introduced in 1996, was the first general instant messaging system. In just a few years internet chat rooms have become a huge subculture within the internet culture. Chat rooms allow users to meet anonymously, chat about sex, trade photographs, chat about sex, keep in touch, and chat about sex, all without the complications of a relationship or human contact of any kind. It is easier to have a “chat buddy” who you can log on and off with at will than to deal with the stress and complications of an actual relationship. The proliferation of chat programs and the number of users show that they appeal to a lot of people, as the following figures, taken from wikipedia.com demonstrate:
There has been a 107% increase in text message use in the USA in the past year.
2.5 billion text messages are sent each day in the USA.
More text messages are sent per phone than phone calls.
The average number of text messages sent per month is 357 compared to 204 cell phone calls
As more resources and services become available online, less become available off line. The internet is making life easier for the haves and harder for the have-nots. This was something the internet was supposed to change. During the Katrina crisis, government officials posted evacuation instructions on the Web, as if they were totally unaware that large segments of the community did not even have internet access. This technology gap must be addressed if we are to avoid our communities from becoming even more divided by class.
There is really no turning back from the internet age at this point, and despite all the issues I have discussed, on balance it is a positive development, making information, goods and services available to every corner of the earth. Still, the issues it has caused must be dealt with before we all become isolated in our homes, hunched over our computers, uninterested and uninvolved in what is happening in our communities and with each other. I know firsthand all about this as I am all too often “sucked into the void” online as I like to call it.
Other technological developments have also had a subtle, yet unmistakable effect upon our communities. Portable personal devices such as mp3 players, x-boxes and cell phones allow people to walk around in society in their own personal cocoons. Of course everyone likes to get important phone calls or listen to their favorite music when they want. Still, these devices contribute to the atomization of our culture. The casual hello and other small gestures that add to the feeling of belonging to a community are becoming a thing of the past as users are more interested in their portable machines than the people around them. Twitter asks - “So what are you doing now?” Personally I feel this is none of your business, and if I had the time to be texting about it, more than likely I am not very focused on what it is I am doing, or it must be pretty boring.
In summary, all this technology appears to be fracturing our communities and relationships amongst family members and friends, making us all more isolated and insulated in many ways. Interestingly I have recently run into several young people who recognize this is ocurring, and are actually spurning the use of technology on a regular basis, only utilizing it occasionally - intersting.
How could I have known in 1981 that taking typing class as an elective because it was an “easy class” would pay off for me in spades during the computer age? I live on e-mail (sadly to say) but either I am just “old school”, or I can’t see how texting on cell phones is efficient for anything substantial or meaningful – just seems a good way to leave a very brief message. But why not just call? I can speak a lot faster than I can type, and I can type a hell of a lot faster than I can tap keys on a tiny cell phone, making plenty of typos along the way. It seems for all our technology we might actually be becoming less efficient. I can tell you that I can convey a lot more quality information verbally over the phone (even better in person of course) than I can “texting”. Perhaps people like it this way – they don’t have to think as much. The day I see Ticos texting on cell phones as they ride horseback along our mountain road, will be the day I know things have gone too far.
The next generation is growing up in a world quite different than the world of just a few years ago. Their parents could only dream of a life with cell phones, mp3 players, and personal computers. Such a world existed only in science fiction movies. Growing up in a digital world, children are in fact often better equipped than their parents, who only entered it as adults.
In another sense, however, children and teenagers are at a disadvantage since they have no experienced older people to give them guidance in the digital world. That is to say they have no guidance from experienced people who love them. There is an abundance of “guidance” from advertisers who instill in them the perceived need to spend their money on fashions, music, video games, and other things they typically get bored with in a short time. And spend they do, to a tune of $159 billion in 2006, according to Teenage Research Unlimited (TRU), a market research firm that studies the spending habits of young people.
TRU promises advertisers, “to develop an unparalleled expertise in the teenage market, and to offer our clients virtually unlimited methods for researching teens.” It’s pretty unfair because teenagers do not have the sophistication to understand that they are being researched, and their desires are being manipulated. All they know is that for some reason they want to buy certain stuff. And all the research seems to be paying off. The Magazine Publishers of America reported that the top products teenagers purchase include clothes, music, jewelry, snacks, and soda. For the most part these are unnecessary items that are bought on impulse. Obeying the impulse to buy these items gives only temporary satisfaction.
With reports the average amount of “screen time” per teenager is approaching thirty hours per week, it is no wonder obesity is an epidemic for young people. According to KidsHealth.org, 15% of children and teenagers are now overweight, more than three times the rate in the 1970s. And the practice of many schools offering sodas and other junk food in vending machines is not helping to teach healthy eating habits. These sales have even become an extra source of revenue for struggling school districts – yikes.
The older generation seems to have a hard time coping with the behavior of young people. A recent trend has been to diagnose bad behavior as Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). According to Neurologist Fred Baughman, 5-7 million children have that diagnosis today, compared with only 500,000 in 1985. Either there has been a massive outbreak of ADD in the last twenty years, or adults find it easier today to call normal childhood behavior a disorder, and use medication such as Ritalin to control kids. The website add.about.com advises behavior to look out for to see if your child has ADD:
· Walking around during class
· Sharpening his pencil often
· Looking out the window, at the other kids, at the floor
· Losing his/her supplies
· Not handing in homework you know he/she has done
Perhaps all the kid needs is better quality pencils. Or maybe he has a boring teacher. In any case, Ritalin is prescribed 11 million times a year. Ritalin, similar in effects to methamphetamine, or speed, is also commonly used as a recreational drug. It may help a child focus on schoolwork, but it is hardly childrens aspirin. Perhaps spending time with a child and finding out what stimulates him or her naturally, or figuring out ways to help high energy kids blow off steam could be very helpful.
I know I personally was running around outdoors like crazy as a child, and I assume that because I released this energy in large quantities. it is what enabled me to focus when I had to. Playing computer games or watching television probably does not allow for this release. Prescribing medication could be interpreted as yet another example of some Americans seeking quick solutions for problems that are more complicated and may require parents to more closely examine their child’s habits and lifestyle. I’m convinced our bodies were not designed to be sedentary.
I am not being critical of parents whose children utilize these medications to help them focus at school, for in some cases parents have truly exhausted all options for having their child succeed in today's "one size fits all" classroom environment. What we might want to be asking ourselves instead could simply be: "Why is this condition becoming so much more prevalent"? Is it diet, lack of physical stimulation, and/or the fact that a lot of schools now want kids to fit into a particular "mold"? Somehow our culture seems to have associated being different as a problem. Some of the most incredibly gifted and brightest minds down through history would most likely have been diagnosed this way - guys like Thomas Edison and Ben Franklin. Just something to think about before we pick up that next prescription.
So how can we teach children to think in the long term, rather than seek instant gratification? Much of the solution lies with parents. But parents are up against a myriad of forces that urge their kids to seek gratification now. One answer might be the establishment of a National Youth Bank. Teenagers today spend about $1,500 per year at 13 years of age to $4,500 per year at 17 years of age. Most is spent on fashion, music, and snacks. If they could be encouraged to deposit $25 a week into a special bank account, the amount to be matched by government and corporate contributions, from the time they are twelve until they are 22, at 4% interest they would have over $35,000 waiting for them at the end of the ten year period. That is quite a nice sum to start adulthood with.
Our old sense of community is not completely dead. The aftermath of the 9/11 proved that. Also, much of the reports of lawlessness in the Katrina disaster turned out to be exaggerated, while the instances of neighbors pulling together and helping one another were quite remarkable. The government’s ineffective response paled in comparison to ordinary people’s selflessness. It is a shame that it takes tragedies like these to unite our communities. Strong communities, as well as strong families, are institutions that enrich everyday life, as well as help us through life’s problems. They cannot afford to be lost in a frenzied search for short-term personal gratification. Yet we are in danger of doing just that.
But it is easy to idealize the past. We must remember that the “good old days” weren’t always so great. Life was consumed by almost constant physical work. These small, agrarian communities did, however provide a network that had much to offer. People knew who they were, did not feel so small and insignificant as they do today, and they had a sense of belonging. This is rapidly disappearing, and it is unclear what it is being replaced with. We are turning into a nation of isolated individuals whose lives center around the schemes and marketing strategies of huge faceless corporate entities. Parking lots at “superstores” and industrial centers at the edge of cities and towns are filled with the cars of shoppers and employees who have much in common, but don’t know each others names.
Cheering sports teams, owned by billionaires and manned with multi-millionaires, provides the residents of many cities with a new vicarious sense of community. Numerous cliques have arisen, centered around everything from The Insane Clown Posse to neo-Kabbalaism. Online chat rooms offer anonymous fellowship. But it is doubtful any of these things, often based on the common consumption of one product or another, will replace the practical functions, as well as spiritual, psychological, and social functions, of the traditional communities that are disappearing.
As I contemplate our boys’ future, I can only hope that they are able to carve out a sense of purpose, self-identity, and some sort of strong connection to people, place and, or cause. Too many lives now seem to be wasting away, bogged down in a quagmire fueled by the never-ending onslaught of media and technology overload that drive our consumption-based culture. Self-imposed isolation is becoming the norm, and the effects upon our society are just beginning to be observed. In this environment, the potential exists for many new forms of communities to take root and flourish. It will be up to our future generations to regain what has been lost.
One of the biggest reasons for embarking on our journey in Costa Rica has been to establish a true community where members interact on a regular basis with their neighbors and the neighboring Costa Rican people. So far this vision, shared by the project partners and our on-site project manager, is beginning to take shape. We have to date really connected with the local Ticos, collaborating with them on a variety of projects including public road repairs, raising money for the nearby school, and completely re-grading and re-seeding the town soccer field. On all these projects the local community has come out to support us with extra labor when we needed it. We have provided materials such as culvert pipes, fence, and grass seed. We are now planning a regional organic farmers market at the end of our road. The adjacent town of Maquenco where this will be located has also let us put a Finca Las Brisas sign at the turn-off from the main road and is very enthusiastic about the idea of a local farmers market at this location. The head of the town council confided with us that the only reason they allowed our sign is that they really appreciated and respected the philosophy behind our future-focused, locally oriented community.
The added benefit to all this good will and blending of cultures is something I hope our boys will reap the benefits of as they mature. It is our plan to have them attend classes at the adjacent school for a couple of months each year. This will expose them to how Costa Ricans live simply and in harmony with the land and each other. They will learn Spanish and experience a completely different culture (and perhaps become talented at soccer and surfing in the process). The Costa Rican family unit is incredibly strong, with extended family interaction, reverence and respect for the elderly, and a deep appreciation for the natural world well documented. I look forward to having our boys exposed to this way of life.
So what can we do that will help foster stronger local communities?
Get out and meet our neighbors – get involved in community activities.
Patronize privately owned local stores, suppliers, and farmers. Try to minimize shopping at “big box” stores.
Get involved with future zoning plans for our communities so as to help minimize suburban sprawl.
Get our children playing outside with other neighbor kids whenever possible. Go on a hike in the woods...as a family.
Volunteer for local and regional causes.
Spend quality time with family and friends – become less reliant on e-mail for relationships.
Start a community garden, or one of our own.
What I have been reading or watching:
"A Nation of Farmers" - Sharon Astyk & Aaron Newton (an amazing book)
"Simple Prosperity - Finding real wealth in a sustainable lifestyle" - David Wann
"1491 - New revelations of the Americas before Columbus" - Charles Mann
"The End of America" - A documentary examining the loss of rights in America by Naomi Wolff.
"The Upside of the Downturn - Management strategies to prevail in the recession and in the aftermath" - Geoff Colvin (I am a business owner after all)
After reading my soap box initiative I need to be clear...I'm no saint...
Here are some things that I feel guilty about on a regular basis:
Taking long hot showers (I do my best thinking here it seems)
My vehicle only gets 22 mpg - it is now paid for however, and I have decided to keep it for as long as it will run as opposed to paying to have a new one produced (a lot of embodied energy and materials go into making a vehicle). On a positive note, we purhased Deena's vehicle (a hybrid) more recently and it gets 33 mpg.
Driving to upstate PA (150 miles each way) every two weeks in the spring and fall to work on my moss business and start up our farm. I am hopeful that the locally grown food I plan on producing will begin to offset this. I do work from home the remainder of the time and thus have no carbon or pollution produced during that time as I am not driving to work.
Maintaining two homes (but hopefully heading in the right direction). The house in Maine is shut down in winter, so we have no heating costs there and I am planning on shutting down the heat in upstate PA this winter during January and February - the remainder of the time we will be having our farm manager living in the house, thus making better use of the resource.
Flying to Costa Rica three or four times per year. This appears to be offset from a carbon point of view by the 100 or so acres that we are currently re-foresting. Plus, while in Costa Rica there is no need for heating or cooling at the finca, so we are saving a vast majority of that energy by keeping our rental house in Philadelphia at 40 degrees while we are gone.
Eating higher on the food chain than we should on a regular basis - we need to work on reducing the amount of poultry we eat (we don't eat a lot of red meat).
Some things we think we do well in our home:
1. Keep the thermostat low in winter
2. Use little to no air conditioning
3. Purchase a good amount of our food from the local co-op and freeze produce in summer.
4. Receive the majority of our boy's clothes from a friend whose son is a few months older (thanks Shelly and Jordan!)
5. Limit the number of toys for our boys and give away as many clothes, toys, and baby paraphenalia as possible (Deena is to be commended here)
6. Waste as little food as possible.
Up Next…
Chapter 2 – Built to Break
This book is dedicated to our good friend, Frank Dean. Deena and I first met Frank seven years ago on one of our very first dates, during which we were delivering meals to the elderly in West Philadelphia. Frank's lust for life, wisdom, self-reliance and spunk are something I greatly admire. At 97 years old and still on record as the "block captain" for his street, he regularly enjoys baseball, music, movies, good food, an occasional Schaeffer beer, and a good laugh.
I have recorded several video sessions with Frank and have repeatedly heard him talk about how things changed in this country after "the second war" (as he refers to WWII). His grandmother lived to be 117, so I am hoping we have Frank around for a good long time. Our world needs more Franks - and more people to spend time with them. They have an incredible amount of wisdom to share.
Our family is a bit nomadic for sure, spending summers in Maine and a couple months each winter in Costa Rica (most of the work my wife and I do can be done remotely provided we have a phone and high speed internet). The remainder of the time finds us in a house we rent on the edge of the city of Philadelphia. The Mt. Airy section of the city is renowned for its diversity. Juxtaposed between the affluent Chestnut Hill section and the more rough and tumble Germantown area, Mt. Airy is a community that abuts the edge of the largest city park in the country – Fairmount Park. I often take my boys for hikes along the Wissahickon Creek on one of the many trails that crisscross the hillsides. I can walk to the gym, to restaurants, and a neighborhood food co-op is just a few blocks away.
As far as communities go it is enjoyable – neighbors exchange pleasantries and the older neighborhood has mature arching street trees for shade. We are less than one hundred yards from a train station that can whisk us to center city in twenty five minutes. In summary we are fortunate to reside in such a place, but yet there is still a disconnection for me. Perhaps much of this feeling is due to the fact that we are not year round residents, but it could also be due to the high percentage of rental properties on our block - people in transition. People on the move and in flux are less likely to take the time to make commitments to relationships. More than ever people are moving regularly in the U.S. – much of it due to the frequency at which Americans now change employers and careers. I also believe that our own life expectations are partially to blame for lack of commitment to our own communities. We all expect a lot more out of life than previous generations – myself included. Speaking from experience, I have so many things going on in my life (by choice most of it) that I typically can’t seem to find time for community activities. Making more friends in my neighborhood would be counter-productive, as I am already challenged just keeping up with my own closest friends and family.
An example of this lack of community stands out in my mind. A few months ago Deena attempted to organize a block party of sorts for neighbors to meet and become better acquainted. Of the twenty or so invites that went out, only two people responded. Needless to say, there was no block party on West Mt. Airy Avenue.
So is there a way to combine the security that families and communities supplied in the past with the freedom that recent technological and economic advances offer? If one is to be found, I think we will need to reign in our appetites for instant personal gratification, slow down, and look to the past for clues.
America has always been a country on the go where people have been free to seek a better life for themselves in a new environment. Great migrations are a major part of our heritage. Whether it was the pioneers moving westward in the nineteenth century, Blacks and other southerners moving northward in the 1930s and 1940s, or northerners moving southward and westward more recently, these population shifts define the periods of our national story as much as the wars we studied in history class.
In the past, these migrations have created legendary communities. The close knit frontier town, peopled by pioneers who looked out for each other is a beloved piece of Americana. When Europeans immigrated to America around the turn of the twentieth century, neighborhoods such as Little Italy in New York were established, and are still remembered with great nostalgia. The Black migration north saw the rise of strong communities which nurtured such cultural movements as the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s. Even the much maligned post World War II shift of populations from cities to suburbia had a folksy Ozzie and Harriet feel associated with it.
People are still ready to move to better their lot in America. The 2000 census revealed that over 22 million Americans changed their state of residence between 1995 and 2000. About half of these migrants moved to a different region of the country. When the dust settled, it turned out that people tended to move from the Northeast and Midwest to the South and West, although millions of people moved with no particular pattern. These figures do not include people who changed their residence within the same state. In total, out of a population of about 262 million Americans over the age of five, 140 million people, including 41.25 million children, moved across town or across country in that period.
But there is something different about the communities that are being created with the recent shuffling around of great masses of people. It is something that is hard to quantify. People live near each other, but are often strangers.
Interestingly our neighbors at our property in the rural area of Northeastern Pennsylvania where I run my moss supply company from (we rent our home in Philadelphia) are the exact opposite. Even though the typical space between homes is typically a half mile or so, the first thing that happened after I purchased the property over five years ago was my neighbors all showed up bearing food and wine wanting to introduce themselves. We have since become good friends with several of them, and there is a strong sense of community and responsibility to each other. If something ever happened, I know I could count on them for help, and vice versa. It feels good – the way it should be.
The same holds true in Costa Rica. The small villages that surround the property where we are establishing our community are close knit, with individuals relying heavily on family, neighbors and other town residents for all types of support, services, goods, and food. Most people live out their lives in the same community to which they were born into. The recent change to this has been a significant number of Ticas (Costa Rican women) traveling to the larger cities like San Jose to attend university.In these small villages a significant amount of barter and trade occurs, with each family carving out it’s own area of specialization, and then trading their goods (usually food) with other families for those necessities that they have an abundance of. This creates a “we’re in it together” mindset, where everyone is helping to support each other locally. We are looking to replicate this exact model within the Finca Las Brisas community and throughout the surrounding area – an old fashioned, self-sufficient barter and trade system.
In most suburban areas in the U.S. however, homes are increasingly viewed as a financial investment as opposed to a personal investment in a community. Big box stores have replaced corner stores. Individuals are often oblivious to each other in public as they chat on cell phones or type on wireless devices. Rudeness seems more common, and basic considerations have become increasingly rare. Living in the moment in ones’ own world has become the norm.
There are technological and economic reasons behind these trends. While there are a myriad of products and services that are now available to satisfy the momentary whims of individuals, the bonds that tie communities together are unraveling. Many of these changes are the result of planning for short-term profits by businesses. Suburban sprawl is a prime example of short term planning. It offers quick profits for real estate developers, a piece of the “country” life for families, and it is changing the nature of American communities.
Suburban sprawl is the all too frequent practice of reckless spreading out of metropolitan areas. Not just the mere construction of suburbs, but how they are built and where they are placed - far apart from each other, and with no center of town. “Leapfrogging” is a technique developers, have used for years with the acquiescence of local governments. This aggravates problems associated with urban sprawl, since developers skip over empty land close to an urban area and build communities on cheaper land further away. It costs less in the short term, but increases the negative environmental and social impacts of urban sprawl – i.e. more traffic and wasted productive farmland.
The Clean Water Action Council, a non-profit citizen organization founded in 1985, has been looking at these issues for a while and lists some of the results of urban sprawl on their website, cwac.net. In the most recent data we could find, it reports that 13.7 million acres of farmland had been converted to non farm use between 1992 and 1997, a figure 51% higher than the previous five year period. Another major challenge that is exacerbated by our ever-expanding suburbia is storm water runoff. According to the USDA over 2 billion tons of topsoil is lost to erosion in the U.S. each year. Storm water accumulates on any paved or impervious surface (parking lots, roads, roofs, etc) and then finds its way to our streams and rivers which are more and more frequently leaving their banks and flooding. There are now new technologies and systems available that will perform the function of a paving surface but at the same time be pervious, allowing for drainage. It is surprises me that this type of technology has yet to become standard practice.
With communities spread so far apart, the use of cars is essential for even the smallest tasks. There aren’t many corner stores in suburban developments - they aren’t included in the plans. You might end up using a gallon of gas to get a quart of milk. People go from their houses to their cars and from their cars to their houses without seeing much of their neighborhood besides their driveways. Neighbors don’t see much of each other. Ironically, people in these developments may be more likely to recognize their neighbors’ cars than their neighbors.
Contrast this to our mountain in Costa Rica where neighbors all know each other (many are often seen on horseback) and life is rolling along at a much slower pace. At first this was challenging for me, as I felt little seemed to be getting accomplished. After a while however, I realized it is a much less stressful and in many ways better way to live one’s life. I feel much more at peace in this country, my stress levels drop considerably, and as of yet I still haven’t had a check (la cuenta) placed on my table at a restaurant unless I asked for it. Sounds like something insignificant, but I can’t tell you how much more enjoyable it is to request the check on your terms. You never feel like your table is about to be turned while you are ordering dessert.
Back in the States, many townships are now beginning to take action to preserve the look and feel of their communities. My parents still live in the same house I grew up in. As previously mentioned, it is located in what has recently become a pricey “bedroom community” located midway between Philadelphia and New York. The leadership in Solebury Township should be commended for its’ foresight in acquiring over 2,000 acres of prime Bucks County farmland over the past several years, and placing it permanently into conservation trust, ensuring it will remain open space or farmland for future generations. This endeavor is having a profound impact upon the township, enhancing quality of life, and significantly raising property values.
With the growth of suburban sprawl, came the advent of the superstore, best epitomized by Wal-mart, and the demise of the small locally owned business. Wal-mart is now America’s largest employer, with 1.3 million American employed at an average income of $10.68 an hour. There is obviously something Americans like about Wal-mart. Prices are lower and it can be more convenient to do all ones’ shopping at just a single location.
Small businesses cannot compete on price with huge retailers because of the larger stores’ ability to buy in mass quantities from manufacturers (often overseas) and get better deals. In addition, large retailers have sophisticated market research departments that anticipate consumer habits. When a superstore opens up in a town, it is usually just a matter of time before local small businesses start closing down. Downtowns become deserted as shoppers flock to get bargains at the superstore built on cheap land at the edge of town.
Something intangible is lost when a small neighborhood store closes - a certain “humanness” where the customer isn’t dwarfed by the immensity of a huge retail operation. The shopping experience was different. Shoppers interacted directly with the business owner, who took an interest in every sale. There was more equality between the business owner and customer, and every store had its own personality. It was common for a few locals with nothing better to do to be hanging around some old time stores. While it would sometimes make people uncomfortable knowing they would be the subject of a meandering gossip session after they left, these old timers hanging out at the gas station or barber shop were yet another strand in the community, passing on local gossip, news, opinions, life experiences, wisdom, and keeping an eye on the neighborhood. We have a local village store we can walk to here in Brooksville, Maine, as well as a nearby barbershop with $6 haircuts for our boys.
Clossens barbershop is something right out of a Norman Rockwell painting, replete with Richard Clossen wearing his clam digging boots and privy to the latest town news. I told him he should have his own radio show – he chuckled. “The locals already think the place is bugged by the feds” he joked (or did he?)Huge retailers realize that people miss this hominess that small stores and shops provide, and try to set corporate policy to approximate it. There are the smiley face symbols all over the place. And then there are the poor souls hired as “greeters”, who welcome you to the sterile superstore. But it is not the same as the real thing as I can attest, having refused to patronize Walmart stores for three years now. More than anything I simply felt depressed being in these stores. I’m not judging here, they just aren’t for me anymore.
The old fashioned walk to the corner for a quart of milk, no longer an option for many Americans, served a function besides getting the milk. You would pass your neighbors on the way and see who they were and how they were doing. You could see if they were happy or sad, if they were sick, and catch up on neighborhood news. Now people just pass each other in cars on the freeway and push shopping carts around anonymously in huge stores, the only human contact coming when they are waiting impatiently in line to check out.
The past two Januarys have seen the FLB partners rent a small casita in Carrillo, Costa Rica. While our community is taking shape, being within walking distance to one of the most beautiful beaches imaginable is a great way to shorten the winter up north while being close by to oversee firsthand the goings on at the finca. One of the most enjoyable experiences for me has been my early morning or evening walk to the nearby family grocery store. There is just something about walking to a store that feels right.
This is not to say in the old days that everyone had fascinating neighbors. Or even friendly neighbors. Or even neighbors they could stand. But there was a social web and a necessary civility. In the society that is taking shape we are losing that. If someone knows they are likely never to see you again, they will be more likely to flash you an obscene gesture in traffic or cut in front of you in line at the supermarket.
On the positive side, there has been a growing movement in recent years to control urban sprawl and restore a sense of community. Ventura County in California overwhelmingly passed an initiative to prevent local planners from re-zoning farmland and open spaces without first getting the approval of voters. Peninsula County in Michigan pays farmers to keep doing what they do instead of selling their land to developers for subdivision. Washington and Oregon require local communities to develop long range Urban Growth Boundaries. All across the country, there is a grass roots movement to improve the areas that are being developed, rather than to continue spreading out.
Urban neighborhoods are facing different kinds of challenges. The much ballyhooed housing boom in many cities is eroding many neighborhoods. Long time renters are being forced out and longtime homeowners are cashing out to make way for condos and gentrification, and the old neighborhoods that attracted the newcomers in the first place are disappearing. A yuppie culture and a culture of poverty exist side by side, complete strangers, preying on each other. Yuppies are losing their wallets and low income people are losing their communities.
Some urban neighborhoods have become reverse prison camps, with criminals roaming free and law abiding citizens locked up inside. Open air drug markets carry on business all hours of the day and night in what used to be close-knit communities. Evening news reports are filled with stories of shootouts between rival gangs battling over turf. It is no longer safe for children to play outside. Residents take their lives in their hands when they step out of their homes. Urban communities are dying under these conditions.
The government is responding with an ineffectual “war on drugs.” With the use of illegal drugs so high, this amounts to the United States waging war against itself. According to the New York Times, as of 2008, for the first time in the nation’s history, one in every one hundred adult Americans is now incarcerated. That’s equivalent to 1.6 million people. Over seven million more are on probation, according to the Department of Justice. Drug offenders now account for 58% of the incarcerated population. In the past 20 years, according the FBI, violent crimes fell by 25 percent, to 464 for every 100,000 people in 2007 from 612.5 in 1987. This all comes at a price. To keep all these people in prison it is costing states approximately 7% of their entire budgets. With dwindling tax revenues it appears this will be all but impossible to maintain moving forward.
This get tough strategy is popular, but has not been working. Slogans like “zero tolerance” and “three strikes you’re out” will not win back our urban neighborhoods. Locking up drug users and dealers doesn’t even work in the short term. It adds to the problem, as a criminal culture grows in prisons, and those caught up in the drug world have yet another obstacle to becoming productive members of their communities.
Changing our strategy of dealing with drugs is not to condone their use. However, in a city like Philadelphia where lower paying service jobs are primarily the only ones available, it is not hard to understand why dealing drugs is attractive to so many inner city youths. And in a culture that places such a high value on instant gratification and materialism, it is not hard to understand why drugs are so prevalent.
If stamping out the drug trade is a pre-requisite to rescuing our urban neighborhoods, we should invest at least as much in treating drug users as we do on locking them up. But in a sense, that would be treating the symptom and not the sickness. More money must be spent to rebuild neighborhood infrastructures and on public education. According to http://www.costofwar.com/, as of July 2009, we have spent six hundred and sixty seven billion dollars to destroy and rebuild Iraq. Given these numbers, it seems we can surely find enough money to save our own cities since we found all that money to “save” Iraq. By contrast, Costa Rica has had no military since 1948, with the majority of their tax base being directed to healthcare for all, renewable energy (over 93%), and a quality education system on par with the U.S. Some solid long-term thinking for sure.
Global economic changes are dramatically impacting our inner cities. Manufacturing jobs, a traditional economic support of urban blue collar neighborhoods, have been moving overseas. According to a 2008 article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, between 1979 and 2007 the number of U.S. manufacturing jobs declined from 19.4 million to 14.0 million. A good part of this can be attributed to technology and the associated gains in efficiency, but nonetheless, the effects upon urban America have been devastating. Lower paying service sector jobs have replaced manufacturing jobs, making it harder and harder for a breadwinner to support a family. Families are the basic units of communities, and they too are fracturing. According to the 2000 census, single person households now outnumber family households. While living alone gives an individual greater personal freedom, it also takes away one of the greatest support systems available for physical, emotional, and economic well being – a partner.
The Nuclear Family…
It’s trickier than one might assume to get reliable statistics about the state of families in America. If we compare the number of marriages to the number of divorces per thousand people in our population, then we could get a high failure rate. In 2003, there were 75 marriages and 38 divorces per thousand people, according to a study by the National Center for Health Statistics. That method gives us the oft quoted figure of about half of marriages ending in divorce. This method is flawed somewhat, because the newly married people join a growing married segment of the population, while the newly divorced segment is growing at a slower rate. If we want a rosier picture of family life, one method is to change the way we calculate statistics.In 2005, The New York Times reported that the failure rate for marriages in America is closer to 41%, still not a figure to celebrate. However the rates are calculated, the trend over the last thirty or forty years is the same. There was a sharp increase in the divorce rate in the 1970s and the divorce rate has gradually stabilized somewhere around 45 percent.
Data from the 2000 Census gives a stark picture of the state of American families. The following statistics, collected from that census, appear on The Council on Contemporary Families’ website (CCF is an organization of researchers and mental health professionals):
· Two-parent households increased 6 percent since 1990. In contrast mother headed households grew by 25 percent. Single mother households now make up 7 percent of all households.
· For the first time ever, less than a quarter of American households consist of nuclear families. Married couples with children now make up 24 percent of all households, compared to 39 percent in 1990.
· One of the most dramatic developments is a sharp increase in families headed by unmarried partners. Nationally, the number of unmarried partners grew by 71 percent during the 1990s.
My Tico friends in Costa Rica aren’t fairing much better. 2008 census results from around the world show their country with the 9th highest rate of divorce per 1,000 residents – 3.58. The U.S. however is fairing even worse, with 4.19 divorces per 1,000 residents, and has the 3rd highest rate in the world behind the Maldives and Belarus.Perhaps the high numbers in Costa Rica can be attributed to the strong North American influence that has come about due to the booming Costa Rican tourism industry. This is certainly having a significant impact upon lifestyles in the large and more densely populated beach towns and metropolitan areas of the central valley. It is also in these areas where drugs and crime are much higher.
In the small, agrarian communities where we are located, these problems are incredibly rare. So rare in fact, that when I received a recent update of “Life in Zaragoza” from our friend and neighbor, Howie Kramer (originally from Brooklyn, but now living above us on the mountain in Costa Rica full time), I was quite surprised to be reading what he had written. First let me start by saying Howie is possibly one of the most gifted writers I have come across. Sure he drops the “f-bomb” a few too many times, but that is part of his shtick. His command of the English language and descriptions of comical day-to-day life experiences in Costa Rica are incredibly funny. He is also quite perceptive and has an edgy, sarcastic point of view that is interesting to say the least. Anyway, Howie’s most recent “chapter” of his soon to be released journal focused upon a string of burglaries that had occurred in his small town of Zaragoza. This type of thing is so uncommon that the entire community was thrown into disarray – trust had been breached. The peace and tranquility that is Zaragoza had been tarnished.
The robberies had all occurred over a short period of time when town meetings were going on, or school was finishing up and virtually everyone from the town was attending one of these events. The thieves made a poor choice in burglarizing the home of one of the leading families in the area, and upon closer inspection it became apparent that it was an “inside job” – accomplished by a group of teenage school kids who, working with a “fence” in the nearby beach town of Nosara were able to move the items they stole (until they got caught). Here is a short snippet taken from Howie’s recent email and his take on the situation:
“This group surely had no intelligence...a rash of robberies over a three week period while everyone was on school vacation...the last one in the house of the Deacon of the Catholic Church...one of the boys who broke in lived next door. A pathetic showing, for sure.
All over the world...teenagers, as a group, are always fucking up...always getting into mischief...but the behavior of this group of teens possibly sends a more ominous message of moral decay and total lack of respect...maybe more proof that hip hop music and reggaeton...and all the shit that they watch on Tico TV...is getting in the way of their normal development...impairing it to the point of possibly producing a generation of virtually useless youth. You don’t have to live in the ghetto anymore to be a fucking gangsta’. The hip hop group “50 Cents”...their name indicating only what it costs to kill a man...this is the vibe resonating today throughout all of our youthful society. 50 Cents...only what it costs to kill a whole generation”.
Howie doesn’t pull any punches, but the good news is that the community of Zaragoza was so outraged by the lack of respect associated with these incidents, that they rounded up all the possible suspects (it’s a very small town) and then got them singing. The guilty teens have been identified and the expectations are that this was a one time incident in this otherwise utopian mountain village. What I like about this story is how the community came together to nip the problem in the bud and take responsibility for their youth – a good example for how our own culture could address these type of issues on the local level.Back to divorce….
With respect to divorce rates in the U.S. there were many factors that went into the sharp increase during the last half of the twentieth century; the much cited “permissive society” being only one. Technology changed the nature of work, allowing more women to enter the work force and not be dependant on their husbands for economic survival. With more machines doing most of the hard work, not as many jobs needed the male’s upper body strength. The introduction of computers was also a great gender equalizer. Both men and women are equally capable of typing on a keyboard. New forms of birth control, especially “The Pill”, took away one of the main reasons for getting married and staying married. Then there is legalized abortion.
Legal changes have transformed the nature of marriage. No-fault divorce laws have made ending a marriage much less complicated. Pre-nuptial agreements also became popular; another sign that society recognized that marriage was no longer necessarily a permanent arrangement. At the same time, legal decisions awarding “palimony” to live-in partners helped legitimize non-marital cohabitation. The line between being married and living together became fuzzier, more of a formality than of practical reality.
The easier access to divorce is not a totally bad thing. It is impossible to calculate how many millions or billions of people were trapped in unhappy marriages in the past because of an impulsive decision they made when they were barely out of adolescence, or because they were pressured into it by their families, or because someone got pregnant, or just because they felt it was the thing to do at the time. One of the staples of comedians for years have been wife jokes or husband jokes. There’s the Moms Mabley joke, for instance, “My husband was so ugly, he had a job standing outside of a doctor’s office and making people sick.” Henny Youngman made a career out of his “Take my wife, please!” shtick. Comic strips such as Andy Capp and The Lockhorns lampooned miserable marriages. This humor struck a cord in a population which did not have divorce as a viable option.
While divorce was not an option, there were other ways of dealing with an unhappy marriage. Counseling had not yet become common. But you could get drunk, beat your wife, nag your husband, argue endlessly, and generally make each other miserable. And if none of these worked, you could always kill your spouse. It is a well known maxim of law enforcement, that when someone is murdered, the first suspect is always the spouse. These strategies were hardly more favorable to divorce.
While marriage at any cost is not necessarily a good thing, a properly functioning marriage is, for the individuals who are married, as well as society at large, usually a positive influence. Married people live longer. A study by Sociology Professor Linda J. Waite showed that only about 60% of divorced, widowed, or never married people make it to age 65, while 90% of married people live long enough to collect Social Security. (Of course, these figures may not be what they seem, because if someone has serious health problems to begin with, they may be less likely to marry.) Still, it’s not difficult to imagine why being married would be healthier. You are living with someone who is aware of your habits and appearance, and in all likelihood is not reticent about offering an opinion. A spouse is likely to notice and comment if you are getting chubbier, if you look sick, or if bad habits like drinking or smoking are getting out of hand.
There is also a non-tangible benefit associated with marriage. A Pew Foundation study done in 2005 reported that 43% of married people described themselves as “very happy”, while only 24% of unmarried people did. I do think the answer to this question is skewed based on timing – ask a newly wed what they think of the institution and then ask parents of twin three year old boys, and I am sure you will get very different answers. Nonetheless, I do feel the institution can be a huge success, but if and only if you end up with the right person at the right time. My wife and I both agreed that had we met each other ten years earlier we would have not been as likely to make a permanent commitment to each other, as we were not mentally ready to do so. From my experience, the bottom line seems to be pretty simple: marry the right person, at the right time, for the right reasons. This is easier said than done.
The family is still the main social and economic unit in our culture. Two people agree to take care of each other and raise the next generation; a very simple concept. With lax divorce laws, the decline of religious institutions, economic independence for women, more individual freedoms, the preservation of marriage depends now more than ever on personal commitment.
A movement has been afoot in recent years called Divorce Reform. It seeks to save marriage by doing away with no-fault divorce, making a divorce more complicated and difficult to get. This “one size fits all” solution would probably do little more than trap millions of people in unhappy marriages. Of course it might save some marriages that are threatened by normal stage-of-life issues such as mid-life crisis. But only those in a marriage know if there is nothing left in the relationship worth saving. Divorce Reform would be a major government intrusion into people’s personal lives. States should carefully consider the consequences before enacting these reforms.
Perhaps the answer to saving marriages in America lies not in controlling how they end, but understanding how they start. According to The National Center for Health Statistics, the divorce rate drops by ten percent if couples wait until after they are twenty-five to get married. Instead of youths marrying on impulse or in order to get out of their parents house, they should be encouraged to wait until they see in what direction their lives are going.
Couples should also understand that getting married isn’t like waving a magic wand that will make their lives secure. Marriage is only one piece of the puzzle. In a way, it is one of the easier steps because there is so much social support and encouragement for a couple when a couple walks down the aisle. The real test comes after the honeymoon is over - when spouses must make sacrifices and compromises to make the relationship work. There is a reward for these sacrifices and compromises, but couples must understand that there is a quid pro quo going in. If spouses could keep this in mind throughout their marriages, then the institution could be strengthened.
I personally married later in life, and at age 42 finally got around to starting a family. And an “instant family” it certainly is. I went from being single to having a family of four all in the span of less than two years – phew! My primary observation thus far is simple: for a marriage with children (twins in our case) to be a success, you must be able to let the small stuff roll off your back. Empathy seems to be the key. Sometimes the smallest gesture towards my wife can really make her day and relieve tension. In this day and age of self-focused orientation, maintaining a healthy relationship, a successful career, and properly caring for children can be incredibly challenging.
There have been times when it crossed my mind how it would be quite easy just to walk away when things got tough. But if one steps back and considers the long-term impact this would have upon someone you committed your entire life to, the children, and yourself for that matter, it becomes clear that it makes a lot more sense to work out your differences and move forward. Perhaps many people are just giving up too easily. After all, more often than not, nothing worthwhile comes easily. In this age of immediate gratification, it is often difficult to project oneself into the future, and make family decisions based upon long-term goals and results. It has become my opinion that once we decide to have children we need to shift not only our self-focus, but even more importantly our expectations - it really isn’t all about you or me any more – it’s more about our kids.A side note: More and more often I see parents negotiating with children as if they were adults. Caving in to a child’s every whim does nobody any good in the long run. I remember a few years ago when my wife and I took my Operations Manager at the time and his wife (parents of eleven children) out for brunch. Bill’s one statement has stayed with me – “You need to be in charge – do not negotiate with your children. Clearly define your rules and be consistent enforcing them”. Bill’s kids are some of the brightest and most well mannered children I have ever met.
Technical Difficulties…
There has been an infusion of new technology into the population in the past fifteen years that continues to have a profound impact upon our culture, and in particular how families and communities interact. Communication advances such as cell phones and the internet help diminish the distances between people who are geographically far apart. Yet these devices tend to be self-consuming in nature - people become oblivious to what is going on around them as they walk or drive around while chatting on their cell phone, or staring at a computer screen.
When the internet left academia and entered homes about fifteen years ago, there was much discussion of how it would create a global village. It has done much to cause alienation in actual villages, but the whole global village thing is still a bit shaky. All across the country, indeed all around the world, hundreds of millions of people conduct large portions of their lives on-line, with a machine that is designed to be used by one person and one person only. For every hour they are typing on their keyboards and staring at a screen, there is someone else being deprived of their companionship.
It could be argued that home computing frees up time so that families have more time to spend together, but in reality time saved balancing a check book or paying bills online tends to free more time for doing other things online. It is so easy to lose track of time while “surfing the net” (a misnomer if there ever was one). Besides actually “surfing”, much time is spent waiting for programs to download, dealing with lost connections, and other phenomenon of the age of the internet that can keep the person using the computer transfixed, oblivious to what is going on in the “real” world.
Images such as smiley faces are often used on web sites to try to humanize the internet experience. A smiley face icon is no substitute for a real human smile. Or perhaps more importantly, the excessive internet user may not even notice the faces around him aren’t smiling any more.
When I visit Costa Rica I am always rejuvenated by all the “real” smiling faces. The interesting thing I have noticed is that the further one gets from the larger cities or over-built beach communities, the happier people seem to be – even though they appear to have “less”. The small towns of Naranjal and Zaragosa immediately above where our community is taking shape just got electricity two years ago. As crazy as it sounds, I would venture to guess that they were better off without it. Instead of learning firsthand about the natural world by being immersed in it and from experience sharing with their elders, many Tico children are now relying on the television for more and more of their life experiences (TV’s are always very loud in Costa Rica - they are always turned up to decibel levels that compromise one’s hearing for some reason). Video game use by Tico children also appears to be proliferating in these recently electrified small towns. I see the culture and strong community structure beginning to erode due to electricity coming into these communities.Not that electricity, TV, and, or video are bad things - they are tools with wonderful benefits. It just all depends on how we decide to use the technology (or in many cases not use it). Relying upon TV or videos as a full time baby sitter in my mind may not always be the best choice. Don’t get me wrong, there are times when my boys watch movies and times when I utilize the DVD player as a device to enable me to get dinner ready more easily. I do believe however, that how often, with whom, and what is being watched are in my opinion all very important things to consider.
At our community in Costa Rica we made the decision to stay off- grid, and are running the entire project so far with solar-powered systems. These are functioning incredibly well. By not dragging power poles and heavy copper wire up the mountain an additional mile and a half, we feel we are helping the environment and at the same time helping to slow development in the region and perhaps preserving the local area a bit more as it is. We do see value in establishing power to the school for a computer, some lights and fans, and will be working on this using solar panels in the future. A TV or video game programs will not be part of that budget.
Here in the States we have grid power in most areas and even the most remote locations can now typically tap into some form of internet connection. But how “human” are these anonymous online communities that are being created? Attempts at online community, friendliness, and netiquette often seem forced or contrived, with people appearing and disappearing and hiding behind their anonymity. The nastiness that can permeate the web is not. Discussion boards, particularly about controversial issues, often degenerate into “flame wars”, or the trading of insults. Any discussion on the conflict in the Mideast, for instance, is filled with racist anti-Semitic and anti-Arab dialogue. It is often impossible to have a civil discussion online about sensitive issues when so many hate filled people are able to hide in this cloak of anonymity.
A recent development on the internet is the advent of chat rooms and more recently the proliferation of text messaging. Chat rooms are an attempt to counterbalance the isolation felt by many people in the computer age by creating interactive on line communities which aren’t limited by geographical proximity. While academics have been sending messages to each other using programs like PLATO since the 1970s, ICQ, introduced in 1996, was the first general instant messaging system. In just a few years internet chat rooms have become a huge subculture within the internet culture. Chat rooms allow users to meet anonymously, chat about sex, trade photographs, chat about sex, keep in touch, and chat about sex, all without the complications of a relationship or human contact of any kind. It is easier to have a “chat buddy” who you can log on and off with at will than to deal with the stress and complications of an actual relationship. The proliferation of chat programs and the number of users show that they appeal to a lot of people, as the following figures, taken from wikipedia.com demonstrate:
There has been a 107% increase in text message use in the USA in the past year.
2.5 billion text messages are sent each day in the USA.
More text messages are sent per phone than phone calls.
The average number of text messages sent per month is 357 compared to 204 cell phone calls
As more resources and services become available online, less become available off line. The internet is making life easier for the haves and harder for the have-nots. This was something the internet was supposed to change. During the Katrina crisis, government officials posted evacuation instructions on the Web, as if they were totally unaware that large segments of the community did not even have internet access. This technology gap must be addressed if we are to avoid our communities from becoming even more divided by class.
There is really no turning back from the internet age at this point, and despite all the issues I have discussed, on balance it is a positive development, making information, goods and services available to every corner of the earth. Still, the issues it has caused must be dealt with before we all become isolated in our homes, hunched over our computers, uninterested and uninvolved in what is happening in our communities and with each other. I know firsthand all about this as I am all too often “sucked into the void” online as I like to call it.
Other technological developments have also had a subtle, yet unmistakable effect upon our communities. Portable personal devices such as mp3 players, x-boxes and cell phones allow people to walk around in society in their own personal cocoons. Of course everyone likes to get important phone calls or listen to their favorite music when they want. Still, these devices contribute to the atomization of our culture. The casual hello and other small gestures that add to the feeling of belonging to a community are becoming a thing of the past as users are more interested in their portable machines than the people around them. Twitter asks - “So what are you doing now?” Personally I feel this is none of your business, and if I had the time to be texting about it, more than likely I am not very focused on what it is I am doing, or it must be pretty boring.
In summary, all this technology appears to be fracturing our communities and relationships amongst family members and friends, making us all more isolated and insulated in many ways. Interestingly I have recently run into several young people who recognize this is ocurring, and are actually spurning the use of technology on a regular basis, only utilizing it occasionally - intersting.
How could I have known in 1981 that taking typing class as an elective because it was an “easy class” would pay off for me in spades during the computer age? I live on e-mail (sadly to say) but either I am just “old school”, or I can’t see how texting on cell phones is efficient for anything substantial or meaningful – just seems a good way to leave a very brief message. But why not just call? I can speak a lot faster than I can type, and I can type a hell of a lot faster than I can tap keys on a tiny cell phone, making plenty of typos along the way. It seems for all our technology we might actually be becoming less efficient. I can tell you that I can convey a lot more quality information verbally over the phone (even better in person of course) than I can “texting”. Perhaps people like it this way – they don’t have to think as much. The day I see Ticos texting on cell phones as they ride horseback along our mountain road, will be the day I know things have gone too far.
The next generation is growing up in a world quite different than the world of just a few years ago. Their parents could only dream of a life with cell phones, mp3 players, and personal computers. Such a world existed only in science fiction movies. Growing up in a digital world, children are in fact often better equipped than their parents, who only entered it as adults.
In another sense, however, children and teenagers are at a disadvantage since they have no experienced older people to give them guidance in the digital world. That is to say they have no guidance from experienced people who love them. There is an abundance of “guidance” from advertisers who instill in them the perceived need to spend their money on fashions, music, video games, and other things they typically get bored with in a short time. And spend they do, to a tune of $159 billion in 2006, according to Teenage Research Unlimited (TRU), a market research firm that studies the spending habits of young people.
TRU promises advertisers, “to develop an unparalleled expertise in the teenage market, and to offer our clients virtually unlimited methods for researching teens.” It’s pretty unfair because teenagers do not have the sophistication to understand that they are being researched, and their desires are being manipulated. All they know is that for some reason they want to buy certain stuff. And all the research seems to be paying off. The Magazine Publishers of America reported that the top products teenagers purchase include clothes, music, jewelry, snacks, and soda. For the most part these are unnecessary items that are bought on impulse. Obeying the impulse to buy these items gives only temporary satisfaction.
With reports the average amount of “screen time” per teenager is approaching thirty hours per week, it is no wonder obesity is an epidemic for young people. According to KidsHealth.org, 15% of children and teenagers are now overweight, more than three times the rate in the 1970s. And the practice of many schools offering sodas and other junk food in vending machines is not helping to teach healthy eating habits. These sales have even become an extra source of revenue for struggling school districts – yikes.
The older generation seems to have a hard time coping with the behavior of young people. A recent trend has been to diagnose bad behavior as Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). According to Neurologist Fred Baughman, 5-7 million children have that diagnosis today, compared with only 500,000 in 1985. Either there has been a massive outbreak of ADD in the last twenty years, or adults find it easier today to call normal childhood behavior a disorder, and use medication such as Ritalin to control kids. The website add.about.com advises behavior to look out for to see if your child has ADD:
· Walking around during class
· Sharpening his pencil often
· Looking out the window, at the other kids, at the floor
· Losing his/her supplies
· Not handing in homework you know he/she has done
Perhaps all the kid needs is better quality pencils. Or maybe he has a boring teacher. In any case, Ritalin is prescribed 11 million times a year. Ritalin, similar in effects to methamphetamine, or speed, is also commonly used as a recreational drug. It may help a child focus on schoolwork, but it is hardly childrens aspirin. Perhaps spending time with a child and finding out what stimulates him or her naturally, or figuring out ways to help high energy kids blow off steam could be very helpful.
I know I personally was running around outdoors like crazy as a child, and I assume that because I released this energy in large quantities. it is what enabled me to focus when I had to. Playing computer games or watching television probably does not allow for this release. Prescribing medication could be interpreted as yet another example of some Americans seeking quick solutions for problems that are more complicated and may require parents to more closely examine their child’s habits and lifestyle. I’m convinced our bodies were not designed to be sedentary.I am not being critical of parents whose children utilize these medications to help them focus at school, for in some cases parents have truly exhausted all options for having their child succeed in today's "one size fits all" classroom environment. What we might want to be asking ourselves instead could simply be: "Why is this condition becoming so much more prevalent"? Is it diet, lack of physical stimulation, and/or the fact that a lot of schools now want kids to fit into a particular "mold"? Somehow our culture seems to have associated being different as a problem. Some of the most incredibly gifted and brightest minds down through history would most likely have been diagnosed this way - guys like Thomas Edison and Ben Franklin. Just something to think about before we pick up that next prescription.
So how can we teach children to think in the long term, rather than seek instant gratification? Much of the solution lies with parents. But parents are up against a myriad of forces that urge their kids to seek gratification now. One answer might be the establishment of a National Youth Bank. Teenagers today spend about $1,500 per year at 13 years of age to $4,500 per year at 17 years of age. Most is spent on fashion, music, and snacks. If they could be encouraged to deposit $25 a week into a special bank account, the amount to be matched by government and corporate contributions, from the time they are twelve until they are 22, at 4% interest they would have over $35,000 waiting for them at the end of the ten year period. That is quite a nice sum to start adulthood with.
Our old sense of community is not completely dead. The aftermath of the 9/11 proved that. Also, much of the reports of lawlessness in the Katrina disaster turned out to be exaggerated, while the instances of neighbors pulling together and helping one another were quite remarkable. The government’s ineffective response paled in comparison to ordinary people’s selflessness. It is a shame that it takes tragedies like these to unite our communities. Strong communities, as well as strong families, are institutions that enrich everyday life, as well as help us through life’s problems. They cannot afford to be lost in a frenzied search for short-term personal gratification. Yet we are in danger of doing just that.
But it is easy to idealize the past. We must remember that the “good old days” weren’t always so great. Life was consumed by almost constant physical work. These small, agrarian communities did, however provide a network that had much to offer. People knew who they were, did not feel so small and insignificant as they do today, and they had a sense of belonging. This is rapidly disappearing, and it is unclear what it is being replaced with. We are turning into a nation of isolated individuals whose lives center around the schemes and marketing strategies of huge faceless corporate entities. Parking lots at “superstores” and industrial centers at the edge of cities and towns are filled with the cars of shoppers and employees who have much in common, but don’t know each others names.
Cheering sports teams, owned by billionaires and manned with multi-millionaires, provides the residents of many cities with a new vicarious sense of community. Numerous cliques have arisen, centered around everything from The Insane Clown Posse to neo-Kabbalaism. Online chat rooms offer anonymous fellowship. But it is doubtful any of these things, often based on the common consumption of one product or another, will replace the practical functions, as well as spiritual, psychological, and social functions, of the traditional communities that are disappearing.
As I contemplate our boys’ future, I can only hope that they are able to carve out a sense of purpose, self-identity, and some sort of strong connection to people, place and, or cause. Too many lives now seem to be wasting away, bogged down in a quagmire fueled by the never-ending onslaught of media and technology overload that drive our consumption-based culture. Self-imposed isolation is becoming the norm, and the effects upon our society are just beginning to be observed. In this environment, the potential exists for many new forms of communities to take root and flourish. It will be up to our future generations to regain what has been lost.
One of the biggest reasons for embarking on our journey in Costa Rica has been to establish a true community where members interact on a regular basis with their neighbors and the neighboring Costa Rican people. So far this vision, shared by the project partners and our on-site project manager, is beginning to take shape. We have to date really connected with the local Ticos, collaborating with them on a variety of projects including public road repairs, raising money for the nearby school, and completely re-grading and re-seeding the town soccer field. On all these projects the local community has come out to support us with extra labor when we needed it. We have provided materials such as culvert pipes, fence, and grass seed. We are now planning a regional organic farmers market at the end of our road. The adjacent town of Maquenco where this will be located has also let us put a Finca Las Brisas sign at the turn-off from the main road and is very enthusiastic about the idea of a local farmers market at this location. The head of the town council confided with us that the only reason they allowed our sign is that they really appreciated and respected the philosophy behind our future-focused, locally oriented community.The added benefit to all this good will and blending of cultures is something I hope our boys will reap the benefits of as they mature. It is our plan to have them attend classes at the adjacent school for a couple of months each year. This will expose them to how Costa Ricans live simply and in harmony with the land and each other. They will learn Spanish and experience a completely different culture (and perhaps become talented at soccer and surfing in the process). The Costa Rican family unit is incredibly strong, with extended family interaction, reverence and respect for the elderly, and a deep appreciation for the natural world well documented. I look forward to having our boys exposed to this way of life.So what can we do that will help foster stronger local communities?
Get out and meet our neighbors – get involved in community activities.
Patronize privately owned local stores, suppliers, and farmers. Try to minimize shopping at “big box” stores.
Get involved with future zoning plans for our communities so as to help minimize suburban sprawl.
Get our children playing outside with other neighbor kids whenever possible. Go on a hike in the woods...as a family.
Volunteer for local and regional causes.
Spend quality time with family and friends – become less reliant on e-mail for relationships.
Start a community garden, or one of our own.
What I have been reading or watching:
"The Big Picture" - David Suzuki
"Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle" - Chris Hedges
"A Nation of Farmers" - Sharon Astyk & Aaron Newton (an amazing book)
"Simple Prosperity - Finding real wealth in a sustainable lifestyle" - David Wann
"1491 - New revelations of the Americas before Columbus" - Charles Mann
"The End of America" - A documentary examining the loss of rights in America by Naomi Wolff.
"The Upside of the Downturn - Management strategies to prevail in the recession and in the aftermath" - Geoff Colvin (I am a business owner after all)
After reading my soap box initiative I need to be clear...I'm no saint...
Here are some things that I feel guilty about on a regular basis:
Taking long hot showers (I do my best thinking here it seems)
My vehicle only gets 22 mpg - it is now paid for however, and I have decided to keep it for as long as it will run as opposed to paying to have a new one produced (a lot of embodied energy and materials go into making a vehicle). On a positive note, we purhased Deena's vehicle (a hybrid) more recently and it gets 33 mpg.
Driving to upstate PA (150 miles each way) every two weeks in the spring and fall to work on my moss business and start up our farm. I am hopeful that the locally grown food I plan on producing will begin to offset this. I do work from home the remainder of the time and thus have no carbon or pollution produced during that time as I am not driving to work.
Maintaining two homes (but hopefully heading in the right direction). The house in Maine is shut down in winter, so we have no heating costs there and I am planning on shutting down the heat in upstate PA this winter during January and February - the remainder of the time we will be having our farm manager living in the house, thus making better use of the resource.
Flying to Costa Rica three or four times per year. This appears to be offset from a carbon point of view by the 100 or so acres that we are currently re-foresting. Plus, while in Costa Rica there is no need for heating or cooling at the finca, so we are saving a vast majority of that energy by keeping our rental house in Philadelphia at 40 degrees while we are gone.
Eating higher on the food chain than we should on a regular basis - we need to work on reducing the amount of poultry we eat (we don't eat a lot of red meat).
Some things we think we do well in our home:
1. Keep the thermostat low in winter
2. Use little to no air conditioning
3. Purchase a good amount of our food from the local co-op and freeze produce in summer.
4. Receive the majority of our boy's clothes from a friend whose son is a few months older (thanks Shelly and Jordan!)
5. Limit the number of toys for our boys and give away as many clothes, toys, and baby paraphenalia as possible (Deena is to be commended here)
6. Waste as little food as possible.
Up Next…
Learn why our country established, and is now exporting a culture based upon consumption. Products are now designed and manufactured in such a way that they require replacement in increasingly shorter intervals of time. The ramifications associated with this line of thinking are far reaching.
In this next chapter we will explore how and why this paradox exists and what we can all do to begin to move in a different direction. The mountains of trash, volumes of polluted air and water, and the swirling vortex of plastic now the size of Texas in the Pacific Ocean are expanding. As other nations begin to emulate our levels of consumption and lifestyle, the strain this places upon global resources and eco-systems is potentially overwhelming. Perhaps it is time to get back to spending more for fewer things that are made locally and made to last.
This chapter will release in late October. You will be notified by e-mail. If you have enjoyed what you have been reading so far, please use the “forward to a friend” option at the bottom of the e-mail you were sent with the Mail Chimp program.
Thanks and be well…. Al Benner
In this next chapter we will explore how and why this paradox exists and what we can all do to begin to move in a different direction. The mountains of trash, volumes of polluted air and water, and the swirling vortex of plastic now the size of Texas in the Pacific Ocean are expanding. As other nations begin to emulate our levels of consumption and lifestyle, the strain this places upon global resources and eco-systems is potentially overwhelming. Perhaps it is time to get back to spending more for fewer things that are made locally and made to last.
This chapter will release in late October. You will be notified by e-mail. If you have enjoyed what you have been reading so far, please use the “forward to a friend” option at the bottom of the e-mail you were sent with the Mail Chimp program.
Thanks and be well…. Al Benner
This book is dedicated to our good friend, Frank Dean. Deena and I first met Frank seven years ago on one of our very first dates, during which we were delivering meals to the elderly in West Philadelphia. Frank's lust for life, wisdom, self-reliance and spunk are something I greatly admire. At 97 years old and still on record as the "block captain" for his street, he regularly enjoys baseball, music, movies, good food, an occasional Schaeffer beer, and a good laugh.I have recorded several video sessions with Frank and have repeatedly heard him talk about how things changed in this country after "the second war" (as he refers to WWII). His grandmother lived to be 117, so I am hoping we have Frank around for a good long time. Our world needs more Franks - and more people to spend time with them. They have an incredible amount of wisdom to share.
