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permaculture - [permaculture] Re: permaculture Digest, Vol 20, Issue 25

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  • From: Scott Pittman <pci@permaculture-inst.org>
  • To: permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [permaculture] Re: permaculture Digest, Vol 20, Issue 25
  • Date: Tue, 14 Sep 2004 12:44:46 -0600



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Subject:
Re: [permaculture] It's free on the web/ was question about PCDcourseprices
From:
<neotern-1@yahoo.com>
Date:
Tue, 14 Sep 2004 08:19:31 -0500 (CDT)
To:
permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>

To:
permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>


<>Why should they be compensated for their time? Time is
the only thing you have in this live, and it came for
free...

It's another way of seeing things, I guess, very
difficult for us "developed" people. Breaking the
circle of this eternal compensation/reward, of doing
something FOR something else. More like Fukuoka
maybe...

And about compensation for authors:
"The signature implies ownership of language and ideas
by the person signing, thus posing as the genius who
supposedly originated these ideas. This would be
acceptable if all who deserved credit got their due;
however, such crediting is impossible, since it would
be an infinite regress. Consequently, that which is
most feared occurs: the labor of many is stolen,
smuggled in under the authority of the signature of
the supposed author. This allows the author (or even
worse: his heirs) to collect rewards for the work of
others."
(quote from people who don't mind being credited or
not)


Seems to be several different philosophical approaches to "saving the world", and in my opinion we need them all.

There are those who think the way to go is to go back to the land and by example and sharing change will come, and others will follow suit. This approach is very similar to the approach I used in the 60's when I moved to the Ozarks with forty other of societies drop outs. We were all wounded from civil rights battles, and Vietnam battles, and decided that we would change society by living productive, healthy lives and opt out of Eisenhower's "military industrial complex".

Unfortunately few of us had the construction, agricultural, or social skills to be very effective within our own chosen community, let alone the community at large. It was a tribute to the Arkies of those mountains that they accepted us and our used clothes, long hair, soy flatulence and poverty. We were able to survive this self imposed exile a little over two years, and then slowly scattered across the country to find our way in a culture that seemed totally foreign, and narcissistic.

Since that time most of us have been busy developing the skills that we lacked on our first attempt, and developing a deeper understanding of our dysfunctional culture. Not surprizingly most of us
are still activists, and still raising our voice at injustice, and inhumanity, some of us are even in positions of influence in various city, county, state, and federal positions. A large percent of us have decided that the destructive behaviour of our fellow citizens is overwhelming the earth's ability to sustain itself, and that we can't effectively create the changes necessary through building one farm at a time, and one small community at a time. The house is on fire, and a four bucket brigade is too little too late.
Those of us who chose permaculture as a path to positive change have struggled for years, (20 years in my case), with the problem of reaching critical mass, in terms of numbers of people, to change direction. Many of us chose to teach permaculture, some to design, some to go into city planning, and some to grow healthy food. All of us are equally with integrity and considerable sacrifice devoted to creating a place for seven generations hence. If you want to create a Permaculture Credit Union you have to present yourself to financial regulators in a way that they listen to your ideas rather than boggling mainstream minds with ones eclectic dress or ideas. Nothing wrong with eclectic, except when it gets in the way of ones intentions.

I"d rather be teaching pc in the land grant colleges around the country where there are hundreds of young minds thirsting for alternatives rather than teaching eight students in someones living room, but I am and will continue to teach those eight students until other venues present themselves. I would love to retire to my garden, and shop to grow and build my dreams, and, by the way, I could make a better living than teaching pc, but as I said the house is on fire.

So welcome those of you who want to give it away, and to those of you who choose to work in the mainstream as our Trojan Horse warriors with morgage payments- there is way too much to do to cast aspersions, or to distrust each other. Ah HoH!

Scott



  • [permaculture] Re: permaculture Digest, Vol 20, Issue 25, Scott Pittman, 09/14/2004

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