[TheForge] Copper-Yak

[Ben Barrett]

Possibly, illiteracy is down by the numbers, but I'd posit that the
basics (RRR's, ability to focus and follow instructions, ability to
improvise and problem-solve) as well as general worker attitude (among
US-born citizens, anyway) are WAY DOWN.  Then again, what do I know?
I was toddling around almost 30 years ago with the chickens and my
pony on a small homestead, not experiencing the work force.  My
less-than-common upbringing helped some, but I think I have been
"infected" with some of the same all-to-prevalent culture we're
hinting at.  I have my own business now, which is a big step up from
giving away 40+ hrs/wk of my time, but often I feel like a bad
manager/businessperson... and sometimes like a bad worker!  :)
Yeah, we're not YET at the point of having issues with drinking
water.... we prolly won't see any real shelter issues but our
infrastructure has been over-built in many places, and we are becoming
mal-adapted at survival, which has the risk of bumping us back a big
notch or three... for example, every winter I hear about a number of
older folks freezing to death in their apartments or home when the
power is out for extended periods.  There are a lot of other issues
that brings up, but that is a stupid thing to have happen in our
western culture, we should all take better care of each other
collectively... my real point though is that we rely too much on our
infrastructure.  Not to blame the air-quality folks, but c'mon
fireplaces and other burning-stuff-for-heat-and-cooking are crucial at
least as a backup, and the cities have pushed out most of the
potential for simple living (beyond fire life).  So yeah, soviet bloc
is prolly a better status although I'm sure it'll rile up some other
camp ;>

~ben


On Tue, Jun 10, 2008 at 8:22 AM, Andrew Vida <osan at netlabs.net> wrote:
>
>
> George Dixon wrote:
>>
>> Anyone with a clue about "3rd world nation status" would not see a analogy
>> here.
>
>        Would it make you feel better to characterize it as "soviet bloc"
> status?  That isn't a whole lot better.   The point is that we are moving
> the wrong way.  The average person is significantly less properous than he
> was, say, 30 years ago.