Real

Fewer than 2% of Americans work on farms, but about 20% dress like they do.  Our rural mythology, with the popularity of country music, Ivy League presidents speaking like country bumpkins, and men wearing cowboy hats at the mall, is fitting for a pre-industrial nation.  George Carlin wondered why it is socially acceptable for adults to dress up as cowboys, but not as pirates.

I should be fair.  Many people wear the baseball cap of "my team" that they certainly don't play for.  And if you really find that a cowboy hat protects you from the sun and rain or it represents your authentic culture, then I'm with you.

And I happen to think that a lot of country music is purely awesome.  Sometimes it is a mix of original rock styles with modern folk sentiments that is hard to dismiss.  There are hipsters like Ryan Adams (no, not Bryan) who have strong country edge to their music.  And of course some of it, like in any popular genre, is trash.

There's a song that I wouldn't normally care for, but it is partly in line with my quest for substance.   It is called "Real" and it is by James Wesley.  It makes the simple point that reality TV lacks substance.  He sings:

Where I live, housewives don't act like that
And the survivors are farmers in John Deere hats
Our amazin' race is beatin' the check
Prayin' that the bank ain't ran it through yet

 That sounds about right.

Shopping

I'm not a Christian, but I can't avoid the Christmas gift exchange without coming across as a total lunatic.  However, I am thinking this year I could be a principled shopper.  I'm not thinking reusable bags or any of that feel good bullshit.  My guiding shopping principle will be to avoid chains.  Under that umbrella, principled shopping acts at chains don't count.

Perhaps I'll give gift certificates from local places that people happen not to patronize despite their proximity.  That would mean business plus increased awareness for a store, since it requires the receiver of the gift certificate to enter the store.  And I know a fair amount of gift certificates are never redeemed.  If that happens in my case, I'll count it as a donation to the store.

Yeah, this is good.  If I am going to take part in the madness, I will direct my cash away from chains.  I'll have to do a little research, but that might be fun.

The diminishing returns of convenience

Labor-saving conveniences make a life of physical inactivity possible.  This outcome probably seemed desirable before we reached it, since for much of history people had to toil endlessly just to avoid starvation, and that toil itself was probably not only unpleasant, but unhealthy.  So with every incremental technological advance that relieved us of some of that burden, the idea of a life requiring no physical exertion could have seemed like a distant, yet attainable ideal

Our modern freedom from physical demands is a freedom to be idle, not a mandate to be so.  Obviously we have a tendency toward laziness.   I would guess that this drive to conserve our energy served us well as cavemen with limited caloric intake.  But now we risk our health and well-being when we live inactively.Perhaps the health-minded individual can take advantage of our victory over labor and obtain his needed amount of exercise only through enjoyable activities.  Playing tennis rather than harvesting barley.  Kayaking instead of running from a mountain lion.

But I think another option is to find a balance between labor-saving technology and physical labor.  By doing so, we can stop resenting a fair amount of physical work, since it fills our need for physical activity.  For example, we may want to reject powered lawn mowers, weed whackers, and snow blowers.  Shoveling and pushing a reel mower are pretty good exercise.  You just have to remind yourself that people actually pay for gym memberships.

This is one of a bunch of ways automobiles and their supporting infrastructure have diminishing returns.   Driving to all your destinations just isn't healthy.  (I find that driving somewhere and seeing the motion outside the windshield gives me a false sense of physical exertion.)  Living in a walkable community, one can incorporate regular, pleasurable physical activity into daily life.

I think a healthy amount of physical activity helps us feel more like our whole selves, where we embrace our animal capacity to use our physical bodies.  We should of course enjoy our freedom from excessive toil, but some activity is a necessary part of a healthy and worthwhile life.

What to do about cars

Choice of car doesn't necessarily even represent how wealthy the owner is.  I remember a coworker who held multiple low-skilled jobs in order to finance a car he couldn't normally afford, and I know young adults living with their parents and putting most of their income into their cars.  There are wealthy folks who drive shitboxes.  Above all, there is a limit to how much a car be used as a sign of wealth, since just by being behind the wheel, you are showing the world that you are not wealthy enough to pay a driver.

However, I'm interested in substance, not wealth.  So my question to myself is how to apply my quest for substance to my choice of a car.  One possibility is to use common sense and buy a car with basic features and a reputation for dependability.  Any additional money that I could have put toward a luxury car can instead be spent on things that matter more to me.  That could be as simple as putting it into savings to strengthen my financial independence, or forwarding some of it to a cause I believe in.  Or in someone else's case, this could mean working fewer hours of overtime.  But mainly, the money wouldn't be eaten by the car.

I'd like to think deeper here.  Why limit myself to a choice of which kind of car, when there is a very real question of whether having a car at all brings more substance than it takes away from my life.  Without a car you can save a shitload of cash and eliminate worries about parking, accidents, and maintenance.  I know, most people consider their car a necessity, and it is.  But the car is a necessity only if your lifestyle makes it so.  The choice is more than whether to have a car or not, but whether to choose a lifestyle that doesn't require one.

What does a car-free lifestyle look like?  Generally it requires living in a community where you can either walk everywhere you need to go or you can walk to most things and take public transportation to other destinations.  Rentals cars, car sharing, and taxis all may have an occasional role too.  And it happens that places that fit this description tend to be culturally and historically interesting.

Why blog?

I'd like to say I am a seeker of richness and not wealth.  I make the distinction because I feel that many expensive things sought in our society lack authenticity and substance.  Of course I won't argue that all things costly are spiritually hollow.  Costly medical care can literally save your life.  And FU money means you are beholden to no boss.  But I think we often seek costly material things that add little substance to our lives.  The huge but tasteless McMansion, the fancy car that is no more reliable than a cheaper vehicle, and the latest fashions that will look stupid in a year.  I feel deeply that I need depth in my life and this need is a strong and hungry force in my life.  My quest for depth, substance, and authenticity will be the initial theme of this blog.  It will probably evolve over time, but that is where I start.