Im sure Ive lost Facebook friends because of my posts. I do wonder. Why? Am I just a wacko, as Click and Clack would say? Do I come off as strident and uncompromising? I do wonder. In many ways, my beliefs run contrary to those of the majority. Maybe. Since college, Ive found myself in conflict with authority. I vividly remember teaching in a small farm community and the tension that arose out of my teaching. When I began my job small farms were going out of business, bought out by ever-larger, more financially adept operators. The mantra was, Get bigger or get out. Those were good years for auctioneers, though. Im thinking about this because last night I was in conversation with an auctioneer, who told me that his business is vanishing. He explained that there are fewer and fewer farmers, their land already having been bought out by limited partnerships with corporate structures that seamlessly pass on the land within the corporation. In other words, corporations dont auction off the farm: the corporation owns the land and the operators are often investors far removed. The effects of this can be seen in the slow withering away of rural communities, the loss of agency by the men and women who work the land, and unfocused resentment by those very men and women who correctly sense their marginalization. Anyway, I remember telling my students that farmers were complicit in their own destruction, because they voted for politicians who claimed to support their aspirations but who in fact promoted policies that made it harder for small farmers and their communities to prosper. The blame for the collapse of rural communities was laid on the doorstep of liberals and city people largely by Republicans, and so rural voters embraced their victimization as a statement of their virtue in the face of the dark liberal Democrats who they were told were determined to destroy them. This is a murky, dark narrative, one that challenges anyone to understand it. However, the threat of guns being taken away by--again--the liberals and the demonization of unions made the underlying issue a simple us-versus-them choice. After this post, maybe Ill lose a few more Facebook friends. Im okay with that. I wish it could be different, I do. Im not claiming to have this figured out, no, not at all, but I do believe there are many of us who are wondering how things got so very difficult for so many people, struggling as they are to pay their bills and afford a dentist. Maybe nothing will change in my lifetime, but does that mean that I should just go to my workshop, make furniture for my family, prepare dinner to be enjoyed with a good bottle of wine, polish up my photos taken with my state-of-the-art camera and lens, and begin packing for our trip to tropical St. Lucia? I dont go to church anymore, but what little Christian beliefs I cling to compel me to think about my neighbors and even those who dislike me for what I have written. I aint no saint, but I am trying to live my life ethically and hope that my life will have made a positive difference. So there, end of Sunday sermon. Back to football.
Posted on: Sun, 09 Nov 2014 17:21:49 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015