A Birthday Lament for America

On this 243rd anniversary of the birth of the United States of America, I cannot help but reflect on the ideological divide that currently has this country in its death grip. While some would consider this progress and reason to celebrate, others lament this as a sad state of affairs. But like the frog who will instinctively jump out when thrown live into a pot of boiling water, we have been willing to sit in the cold frying pan while the heat is turned up so slowly that we've barely noticed what's happening.

In 1973, Eric Sloane published a book entitled The Spirits of '76. It was written in anticipation of then upcoming bicentennial of the United States. In this book he identifies and laments the loss of ten qualities that could be considered the foundational American mindset at the time of this nation's birth. Following are a series of quotes from The Spirits of '76. They seem appropriate to reflect on today.

The Spirit of Respect

"Respect for family, respect for the nation and the land, respect for the flag and the law, respect for mankind and respect for oneself ---these have been outstandingly wanting during the last few years. Within the family, within the nation, and to all other nations, the only hope for the survival of civilization is respect or love for one another. In the end, this is all that matters."

The Spirit of Hard Work

"Once upon a time in America, hard work was a part of life; it was one of the pleasures and satisfactions of living. Even as I write these words they have a ridiculous ring to my ear, so conditioned am I to the popular American creed of seeking the most pay for the least amount of work. Hard labor is considered either drudgery or punishment, or, at best, a necessary evil. . . Retirement from labor has become a national aim, and the physical and mental pleasure from hard work has become a vanished American spirit."

The Spirit of Frugality

"Throwing things away has become an American habit. It has been estimated that we waste more in one second than our gross national economy earning of two hundred years ago. There were no garbage dumps in those days because all leftovers were reused. . . The spirit of frugality began its decline slowly until the last few decades of acceleration, when we have overcome the fine art of saving and finally established a unique economy of waste."

The Spirit of Thankfulness

"Pioneer Americans were rich in the spirit of thankfulness. . . It was the proper way of life in those days to be grateful often and express it openly. . . The art of being thankful in America has not progressed in spite of two hundred years of all sorts of amazing things to be thankful for. The gifts of life are more and more taken for granted and the general belief is that we constantly deserve more than whatever we already have."

The Spirit of Pioneering

"Without adventure, civilization is automatically in the process of decay. . .It has always given me wonder why ninety percent of the people choose to live in ten percent of America's landscape, subjecting themselves to the insidious debasement of overcrowding. Out there between cities, in mountains and prairies, are still hundreds of thousands of empty acres of adventure and health and meaningful living, being ignored by both people and government."

The Spirit of Godliness

"A religious regard for nature and the spiritual is an indispensable element of greatness. As man develops and disturbs nature's relationship with the Creator, not only does the quality of the landscape become mediocre but the same loss of character seems to occur to the disturber himself. . . It is strange that in an age of scientific greatness, there should be an increasing mediocrity in mankind."

The Spirit of Agronomy

"Farming was the classical way of American life. . . Push-button machinery and synthetic manures have pushed agronomy so far from nature that the modern farmer is seldom more than a businessman in overalls or a rural manufacturer. . . Farming is geared only to big business and the spirit of agronomy is a vanished American trait."

The Spirit of Time

"We have become artists at the business of going fast. . . Although people used to have a righteous contempt for anything done in a rush, speed has become today's fullest measure of efficiency. Time-savers are an obsession, but the time saved is only squandered; it is like hoarding money in order to be extravagant."

The Spirit of Independence

"Everyone knows about 'the American Heritage' but, when asked, few can say what that heritage is. Boiled down to a sentence, what made us different. . . was independence and total respect for the individual. . .  Already mass produced machinery has created a mass-produced civilization in which the individual often has less importance than the machine. Individualism is in the twilight of its favor: mediocrity finds both safety and acceptance in standardization."

The Spirit of Awareness

"The most important difference between the early American and his modern counterpart, if boiled down to one word, was awareness. The early life was saturated with the essence of awareness that made living a vital experience. . . The extent of unawareness today would be unbelievable to the early American. All the necessities of life being made for you or done for you by someone unknown from somewhere unknown, produces a dehumanized existence in which the only part left for us to play is to pay out money in exchange."

These are the values I learned from my grandparents and read about in books by authors like Eric Sloane, Laura Ingalls Wilder, and Ralph Moody. Yet, I'd say most people today would view these ideals as antiquated or naive. Because they have all but vanished from modern thinking, I suspect that to many they make no sense, especially those who only know the rewritten version of American history.

But can you not imagine a nation (any nation) in which the individuals who lived there respected themselves and the rights, opinions, and property of others? Who respected the earth and the environment. Whose lifestyles created no waste. Who were willing to see hard work as creative and giving purpose. Who were grateful for what they had. This is the mindset we consider nostalgic and the lifestyle we consider backward. This is the spirit of America we have walked away from.

Most people would say we can't go back, and sadly, I have to agree with them. But if that's the case, exactly what are we heading toward? We are now a nation that makes demands with disrespect, tries to manipulate public opinion with political hysteria, and thinks it can force changes in behavior through restrictive laws. The problem is that these tactics do nothing to unite people in a common confidence of the proposed solution. They only deepen the divide. Is this really what we want?

What do you think?

A Birthday Lament for America © July 2019

by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com

"Good and Bad Investments for Farmers"

I found an article of that title while searching the internet for something else. I wondered if it might be of as much interest to you as it was to me.

From The Country Gentleman: A Journal For The Farm, The Garden And Fireside, Devoted to Improvement in Rural Affairs, To Elevation in Mental, Moral and Social Character, and to a Record of Science, Progress, and the Times.  Vol. VIII-No. 18; published October 30, 1856. (Italics in article is theirs.)

Good and Bad Investments for Farmers

   Some, perhaps we might say many farmers, when they find themselves in possession of a little capital, neglect to avail themselves of the safe and profitable mode of investing which is ready always on their own premises, and which is subject entirely to their own control, and too often seek an investment for their spare funds in the stock of some railroad, banking, or other company. This is turning aside farmers' profits from their natural channel, and the consequences are the loss of the profits which judicious improvements in fields or implements, or stock or buildings would certainly hjave yielded them, and sometimes the loss of principal as well as interst, by an injudicious investment in stocks.

   We have upon a late occasion, as well as upon many former ones, submitted to our readers some suggestions in reference to this subject, intended to persuade them that their safest and most porfitable mode of investment lies within the compass of their own legitimate pursuits. Our columns, also, are at all times abundant in hints as to methods in which capital may at any time be invested to good advantage, as in draining, manure-saving, composting, digging and drawing muck, and other modes of increasing the fertility of the soil; in purchasing improved and really useful and labor-saving implements; or, to name no more, in improving the quality of the stock of all kinds, and enlarging and making more conveninet the buildings of all kinds upon the farm. In these and many similar ways may a farmer at almost any time, make a better investment at home, and in his own business than he can do by the purchase of almost any kinds of stocks, or even of bonds and mortgages.

   To add confiramtion and force to what we have already said on this subject, we give the following remarks from The Ohio Farmer:

   "How many a farmer has lost the avails of ten years' prosperity by buying railroad stocks! Let him do so no more. The farmer cannot trade in stocks with success. This is a species of venture for which his training disqualifies him. Let him throw no more hard-earned gold into this greedy vortex. He will pronounce our advice good if he will notice the facts."

This is a good example of agrarian thinking, and finding it was like a pat on the back for what I've been trying to say about mindset:

• Mindset: Key To Successful Homesteading?
• Contemplations on Value & Money
• The Lost Art of Bartering, Part 1

I think this is important for those who seek relative self-sufficiency through their farming or homesteading. Many folks assume that investments are the only way to have financial security. That has not always been so and following that same tradition, we can consider investing instead, in our homestead for the security of our future.

For the original article, click on this link, and scroll down a bit. It's in the left hand column.

Except for the Country Gentleman article,
"Good and Bad Investments for Farmers" is © February 2012
by Leigh at http://my5acredream.blogspot.com/

Mindset: Key To Successful Homesteading?

Something has been on my mind lately. It's been important for me to figure out, because it seems to be key to successful homesteading. It's about mindset. It's about our expectations and attitudes, particularly, about what we need, what we have, and how we get them.

The early inhabitants of the New World, both Native Americans and European immigrants, had to be largely self reliant in meeting their needs. This affected what they did and how they did it. The industrial revolution changed all that. It changed our ability to obtain goods and it changed how we obtained them. It also changed society's ideas about the value of those goods, as well as work and money. While many would say we gained a lot thanks to technology, many would say we lost something as well. Something very important.

My observation, is that one major difference between then and now (besides the obvious fruits of technology and industrialization themselves), is how these things have changed our worldview, i.e. our mindset. By this I'm referring to our attitudes, expectations, and perception of the world, it's resources, our fellow humans, their purpose, and how these things interrelate.

My labels for these mindsets are "agrarian" and "consumer/profit." I'm not the first to write about them, and others have different names for the consumer/profit part. I'm choosing the term “mindset” because although agrarianism is often set forth as theory (social and/or political), that seems too superficial to me. Labeling it a theory is like trying to keep it into a box, which can either be set aside, or opened at will to examine and dissect the contents, as though they are not a part of what the human race is about. The heart of the matter goes beyond theory and politics.

At the core, both of these mindsets are about our relationship with the land, or the earth if you will. They are about the right to own it and how we interact with it. The question at the heart of it is, are we a part of the natural world, or are we a separate entity which simply uses and controls creation's resources?

The agrarian mindset is not specifically rural. Rather it is based on what a relationship with the land can provide. Neither is the consumer/profit mindset specifically urban. Rather, it is based on what technology and investments can provide. Many career farmers have bought into the consumer/profit worldview, much to their detriment. Even so, the agrarian mindset does focus on local and regional agriculture. The modern worldview on the other hand, focuses on consumerism and profit economics.

The little ditty,

use it up

wear it out

make it do

or do without

is an example of the agrarian mindset.

Cliches of the consumer/profit mindset on the other hand, include:

time is money

quick and easy

buy now, pay later

I'm worth it

Here are more examples, comparing the two. Their order isn't particularly logical, so bear with me on that. Also, I'm not so concerned about the individual examples as I am in trying to describe a whole, in this case a worldview, or mindset. As you read through them, try not to focus on them as stand alone statements, but see if you can get the gist of what I'm trying to describe.

An agrarian mindset considers the land a partner
A consumer/profit mindset considers it a possession

An agrarian thinks in terms of sustainable
A consumer/profit thinks in terms of expendable

The agrarian assumes there's value in the old
The C/P assumes new is always better

Some one with a consumer/profit mindset, will run to the store to meet a need
Some one with an agrarian mindset, makes do with what's on hand

In the agrarian mind, enough is enough
In the consumer/profit mind, more is better

An agrarian mindset thinks in terms of lifelong
A consumer/profit mindset thinks in terms of turnover

Security for the agrarian is in skills and the land
Security for the C/P is in job and investments

In the agrarian mind, a house is a home.
In the consumer/profit mind, a house is an investment.

An agrarian would prefer to pay their place off

A C/P mindset would prefer a tax write-off from the mortgage interest

An agrarian makes improvements based on meeting needs
A C/P makes improvements based on a return for the investment

The consumer/profit mind practices instant gratification
The agrarian mind waits and plans ahead

An agrarian mindset focuses on skills to meet needs.
A consumer/profit mindset focuses on money to meet them.

In a consumer/profit society, life's goal is happiness, fun and leisure.
In an agrarian society, life's goal is contentment and personal productivity.

An agrarian mind thinks in terms of community
A consumer/profit mind thinks in terms of demographics

The agrarian deems it a social responsibility to help others
The consumer/profit assumes that's the government's job

An agrarian based economy is about meeting real human needs
A consumer/profit economy is about making money

In an agrarian society, one's character deems one trustworthy.
In consumer/profit society, trustworthiness is based on credit rating.

The consumer/profit knowledge base relies on science and the experts.
The agrarian knowledge base relies on experience and common sense.

The agrarian mindset accepts life's uncertainties.
The consumer/profit mindset wants guarantees.

The C/P practices impulse buying
The agrarian practices planned purchasing

The C/P mindset assumes debt is a way of life
The agrarian sees debt as a means to an end

The agrarian looks for a fair price
The C/P looks for a fair profit

The agrarian is willing to share work, knowledge, and skills
The consumer/profit only looks to make a little money off them

The agrarian mindset looks to make a living
The consumer/profit mindset looks to make a fortune

The agrarian strives to be self-sustaining.
The profit mindset strives for consumer dependency

The agrarian thinks in terms of reusable
The consumer/profit thinks in terms of disposable

The agrarian mindset sees money as a tool.
The consumer/profit mindset sees it as personal importance and power.

To the agrarian, quality defines a product that lasts a lifetime
To the C/P, quality is a subjective interpretation

The C/P mindset determines value based on money; “how much is it worth”?
The agrarian mindset determines value based on utility; “is it useful?”

The profit minded business person says, 'This product is important. You need it. You need to be willing to sacrifice and pay a higher price for it.'
The agrarian minded business person says, 'This product is important. You need it. I'm willing to sacrifice profits to make it affordable for you.'

Some may see these as "modern" and "old-fashioned" mindsets and wonder, what's wrong with thus-and-such. After all, even agrarians consume things and some profit is necessary to buy things that can't be produced at home. That is true. However, it's neither the consumer nor the profit part that is the problem. The problem is in how we view these things. Both mindsets describe a means to an end. The question should not be which one is right or wrong, but rather, which end do you want to head towards?

I'm writing this because I have made an interesting observation. It is that despite our different social, cultural, religious, and political backgrounds, homesteaders have one significant thing in common, i.e. the sense that the modern, consumer/profit mindset is flawed. That it's forgotten things that are important. That it can provide neither true security, nor a sense of individual life purpose.

I sometimes get emails from folks who have a desire to homestead, but don't know how or where to start. While knowledge, skills, (and a little land) are obviously important, I believe that to be truly successful at homesteading (rural or urban), we need to change our way of thinking. Our success will depend on how we look at our needs and how we expect to meet them. It depends on where our sense of security lies. I do not believe that the consumer/profit mindset ultimately works for the homesteader. Not because homesteaders never buy or sell anything, but because homesteading is about simplifying our lives, not trying to replicate the modern 21st century lifestyle. It's not that the homesteader is opposed to buying or selling, but that one of our goals is to be able to live without buying or selling if we needed to.

My guess is that most of us are a mix of the two mindsets. Still, I see the importance (for us anyway) to leave the consumer/profit mindset behind, if we want to make our dream come true. We need to learn to rethink our needs, rethink how to meet them, and rethink the true value of things.

To those of you interested in homesteading, whether you are actually doing it, or just wanting to do it, tell me what you think. Tell me, what do you expect from your lifestyle? How do you determine your needs? Realistically, how do you expect them to be met? Where does your security lie? How do you determine the worth of a thing? The floor is yours.

Mindset: Key To Successful Homesteading? © January 

2011 by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com/

Farm? Homestead? What Are We About?

I was very interested in your comments to my Why We're Not A Hobby Farm post, and I want to thank everyone for taking the time to share your thoughts. It's turned into a very interesting conversation, and you've given me a few more things to ponder and think about.

Besides "hobby farm," another term popped up quite frequently in my internet searching, homestead. I've pretty much thought of the terms farm and homestead, as interchangeable. More and more though, I realize I've made a subconscious switch to "homestead," when I think and talk about what we're doing with our five acres and our dream.

As I wrote last time, we are not and never will be a hobby farm. While I won't deny that I'm enjoying myself tremendously here, I will be the first to insist that our goal never has been to farm just for fun while we get on with the rest of our lives.

So what are we attempting to do here? To clarify my thoughts, I looked up a couple more definitions. These are my words, based on various sources:

• Farm - area of land and structures maintained as a business through producing food, fiber, and fuel. Involves the production and sale of such products for the purpose of making a living.
• Homestead - area of land (rural or urban) and home maintained for the purposes of a simplified, sustainable, self-sufficient lifestyle.

These alone tell me we're definitely about homesteading. Most of our motives were described in an earlier post, A Simple Life, so I won't necessarily repeat them here.

Like farming though, homesteading is still hard work. I have to tell you though, after a day of cutting and splitting firewood, digging in the garden, putting up fence posts, etc., we are tired but satisfied because we've done something tangibly constructive and meaningful. Something that contributes to our lifestyle. As I work I consider the alternative. We could spend lots of money on labor saving devices, then lament how out of shape and chubby we're getting, and so go spend more money on a membership to the fitness club. Why not simply eliminate the labor saving devices and fitness club, and stay in shape the natural way, with good old-fashioned hard work? It would be cheaper, and just maybe I wouldn't have to work so hard at my job because I would be living a less expensive lifestyle. Makes sense to me.

Still, I wonder about farming. I know that Dan longs to quit his job (he's an over the road truck driver) and make our living here, as farmers. But there are obstacles.

For one, we didn't grow up in farming, so we do not have all the necessary practical knowledge and experience. We have bits and pieces of experience, but to put it all together, there's no modern day farming apprenticeship so to speak. Oh, we could take workshops, courses, seminars, or probably even go to college... no wait, college would just focus on industrialized, agri-biz farming, wouldn't it?

Another problem is that neither Dan nor I have a business mindset. We're artists who tend to gravitate toward planning, creating, and producing rather than marketing and selling. In the past when we've looked into having our own business, the bookkeeping, business and self-employment taxes, plus government impositions, regulations, certifications, fees, etc., are daunting. If a farm is a business, this is something else we'd have to learn.

Lastly, is land usage. We have five acres, about half cleared, the other half wooded with mostly mature pines. It seems to me that all of our land would have to be dedicated to production. I wonder if we would have enough land left over for personal use, such as garden, orchard, animals. As homesteaders we can utilize the land on a smaller scale to meet most of our homesteading needs. Like our master plan.

As many of you have pointed out, farming is a hard life. It's no wonder that over the years children of farmers have instead chosen the security of the steady paycheck elsewhere. But sadly, with that we've lost the agrarian base our society once had, as well as the freedoms it offers: having purpose, being one's own boss, not being totally dependent on others, understanding the seasonal rhythms of the natural world around us, having a sense that what we're doing really matters; to name a few. These are the things Dan and I are trying to get back.

Well, I reckon I've talked your ear off long enough. I'll save the rest of my thoughts for another post. I still have questions, and I'm still contemplating the answers.

Farm? Homestead? What Are We About? copyright 17 February 2010
by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com/

Related Posts:
A Simple Life
Why We're Not A Hobby Farm
Fine Tuning The Master Plan