I have been reading entirely too much about the political scene and thinking about what to make of all of it.
One way to interpret some of what I read is to assume that free-thinkers and other independently-minded folks are not welcome in the land of the free. A little harsh? Perhaps.
This turn of thought took me to the Creative Class website: the notion of a Creative Class is one explanation for why some cities are more dynamic and successful, in many ways, than others. It doesn’t necessary have to do with size or location (Seattle ranks higher than much larger Atlanta, for example, and I leave it to others to work out how the climate or geography factor into it).
“Explanation: Overall measure of creative strength and potential, based on a mix of Creative Class percentage, High-Tech Index, Innovation Index and Gay Index.”
The premise is that a strength and resilience of the community has more to do with how creative the population is, as defined by the diversity of its businesses and general culture. A community with a lot of ethnic restaurants/food stores and theaters is deemed to be more creative than another with more mundane fare and little or no home-grown culture.
If, as many claim, the culture here is swinging away from a more global outlook, away from international foods and products (at least those from unsympathetic nations), are we marginalizing the creative elements in society? What if the prevailing mood became such that it was not longer cool to be hip? Hard to imagine it happening here in the Republic of Cascadia, a/k/a Ecotopia , of course.
if you live in a place that ranks high on the Creative Index, think about what makes it that way? Lots of different people, tolerance of different ideas, manifested in art, clothing, and entertainment options are some of the factors. What if that all went away?
What if the culture wars are re-ignited in the wake of a Bush victory? Imagine the nations of the European Union or our large Northern Neighbor capitalizing on the alienation of America’s most resourceful people and finding ways to make it easy for professionals and creative types to emigrate . . .
Seeking the bohemian lifestyle and rejecting the values of American materialism, a number of intellectuals, poets, artists and writers fled to France in the post World War I years.
Could we see a reprise of the Lost Generation? I recommend exploring the website and examining how well its positions reflect the reality you see everyday.
now playing: Cars And Girls from the album From Langley Park To Memphis by Prefab Sprout
[Posted with ecto]