The two editorials in the Valdosta Daily Times today by Charlie Reese and Leonard Pitts at first glance did not seem to be about the same topic. I did find a connection and it was due to my recent discovery of the writings of Wendell Berry. The main concept that I was able to connect with these three writers was the knowledge of loss of community. A revolutionary slogan turned into a pr campaign, reported by Pitts, and the inability of the UN to be effective, reported by Reese, are both symptoms of a global corporate entity.
Berry says that national and global communities do not exist. A community only exists at the local level. It is only at that level that anything can be achieved that will actually make a difference.
I am doing my part and it starts with my vegetable garden. The food I gather is produced by me. I started the seeds, nourished the small plants, and finally pulled the dying bean vines out of the ground to go back to the compost to enrich my next round of growing. Gardening is subversive because it really does represent freedom from the whims of the outside world. I will plow up that lawn and I wonder how the city will feel about a few chickens.
