Blarg
I really don’t feel like writing anything, and I have a lot to read before a debate tomorrow, so have some pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dburning/
I really don’t feel like writing anything, and I have a lot to read before a debate tomorrow, so have some pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dburning/
So I have been in India for 8 days. This has been a crazy week and a day, but very empowering. I can’t point to one single thought or source of dissonance in my mind, but I have been developing different ideas from anything in I have bothered with in the US. Perhaps the root of this dissonance is rejection of the idea that profit is an end in and of itself. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a hippie shouting “FIGHT THE SYSTEM, MAN” through the interwebs on my macbook pro, but suggesting a return to the ideas that my ancestors, the Norwegians, and Germans, valued so highly-the idea that community is more important than individuals, and society is put in place to protect the community. The good of the community is higher good than that of pure dollar profit.
I am going to take a moment to define “investing the community” for the sake of clarity. What I mean by that is keep money local, invest in tangibles around the community. Warren Buffet once said that he would never invest in anything that he didn’t understand and taking that to an even lower level-investing in a construction company that is putting up new houses, or office buildings in your community is a pretty sure bet to get a return on your money and is a tangible contribution to your community. Detroit died when its residents moved an hour away and started commuting. Keeping money local is the key to keeping a community healthy.
As my mom (Professor of History at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln) is quick to point out, the Norwegians in particular, and Nordic countries (including Germany) in general have a very strong tradition of working together. This is evident in almost all aspects of their modern society, from their economy to their healthcare systems, and even in their forefathers: the immigrants that came over and settled Minnesota, Wisconsin and the upper Midwest. There are more Co-ops in Southwest Wisconsin (Vernon County area) than anywhere else in the US. Why? The Norwegians settled there, and figured the best way to help their community survive was to work together, farmers, grocers, bankers, all work for the good of their community, being accountable to their peers rather than taking their business somewhere that would yield more dollar profit. I say dollar profit because investing in your community yields different results than numbers on a quarterly report, it puts more money into a local economy and allows the community to better itself, the people inside of it.
I feel like this idea of local investments, and community centered politics may be me romanticizing the “good old days” but it has some interesting implications as far as the environment, consumption and waste are concerned. I would love to talk more about those ideas but I haven’t thought about them myself yet, so I won’t spill them on to the internet just yet.
I hope to keep this discussion going, and I encourage anyone reading to point out anything striking or glaring errors in my thesis, reasoning or grammer, but quite honestly I need to work on my regular school work, my readings and my academic journal have suffered of late, and I need to get back to working on them regularly.
So, comment, subscribe, email me, or contact me however you see fit. This blog may be primarily and academic one, I haven’t totally decided yet-but I will be posting pictures on it, and I apologize in advance for any rants about feelings (heaven forbid!) that may find their way on here.
I’m Dan. I’m in Bangalore, India, studying Social Justice, Peace and Development. As the name of the Blog suggests, I am from Nebraska (and insufferably proud of it) and I go to school at Gustavus Adolphus College in Saint Peter, Minnesota. Hence, exile. The blog’s purpose will be determined as I post, but be prepared for some analysis of Husker games as soon as my Dad sends me game tape to break down, yeah, college football is a pretty big deal to me. Even though I am studying idealistic, hippie stuff I try to stay grounded.
