Liberty for All : A Manifesto for Reclaiming Financial and Political Freedom by Newman Rick

Author:Newman, Rick [Newman, Rick]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Macmillan
Published: 2014-12-05T05:00:00+00:00

NINE

THE CURSE OF COMFORT

The preppers I bugged out with were definitely not eager to go back in time and occupy some sort of nineteenth-century homestead. They enjoyed the privileges of living in or around New York City. They were prepping for disaster because they worried about something that might disrupt their way of life, not because they wanted to ditch their way of life. They’d only leave it behind if there were no other choice.

A lot of Americans, however, are seeking something akin to the physical frontier of the nineteenth century. There are off-the-gridders who aren’t so impressed with our relentlessly networked society and check out, aiming for a simpler life purged of the cultural clutter that piles up around so many of us. Related to that are “permaculturists” who don’t necessarily foreswear electricity and modern plumbing, but who want to disconnect from corporate assembly lines that pump an endless stream of products into our homes. Their goal is to grow as much of their own food as possible and perhaps grind their own toothpaste from mint and baking soda and make their own deodorant from coconut oil and arrowroot. A new “paleo” movement mimics the habits of early hunter-gatherers who lived on a diet of meat, meat, meat, nuts, a few legumes and more meat and didn’t enjoy the benefits of orthotic shoe inserts or cucumber-infused moisturizing gel. Many others, not quite as dedicated, still want to do more for themselves while relying less on mass-produced wares. They express themselves by patronizing artisanal shopping sites such as Etsy, the DIY page on Pinterest and the maker site Quirky, and by seeking other forms of refuge from assembly-line sameness.

As with preppers, it’s hard to count all the people who in one form or another seek some kind of escape from mainstream society. But it seems clear that something about the frontier still beckons, even if it’s a subliminal calling. And the call has gotten louder as our economy has become more technocratic and the path to success has gotten rockier. When Frederick Jackson Turner wrote about the frontier in the 1890s, he said the western movement of Americans was a “return to primitive conditions. . . . This perennial rebirth, this fluidity of American life, this expansion westward with its new opportunities, its continuous touch with the simplicity of primitive society, furnish the forces dominating American character.”1 It’s not hard to imagine many Americans today seeking some kind of rebirth or a place with new opportunities, even if they do so privately. More and more Americans feel they’re not making it. They’re stuck in the Liberty Trap and want out. They’re eager to escape their mistakes or have more control over their destiny. If you feel overrun by new technology or other economic forces you don’t fully understand, it might seem natural to seek routines you’re more familiar with and rules that make it easier to win. A more “primitive society,” as Turner referred to it, can be appealing when you feel disserved and exploited by the institutions that now dominate modern living.

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