Musings of a Patriot

Category: culture

  • Community: Commerce

    Commerce is the means by which members of the community interact economically. When building or running a community it is not likely that you would have to actively promote commerce but it is important to be aware that commercial interactivity is a basic element of community and should be a consideration as various decisions are…

  • Community: Communication

    The communication aspect of a community runs from the formal (newsletters, bulletin boards) to the informal (chatting with neighbors). Without the means to communicate, the various members of what would otherwise be a community are isolated. Communication is also the lubricant that keeps other aspects of community working. Actions by the government must be communicated…

  • The Law of Abundance

    I have thought for a long time about the basic premise of capitalism and economics. Thanks to the discussion on Wealth is Always Distributed I have decided to write down my thoughts on the subject. Economics are based on the assumption of scarcity. My observations lead me to believe that the only real scarcity is…

  • Community: Government

    I think that most people have a pretty clear idea of what the government element of community is. We can all imagine city hall as a place where meetings of the community leaders meet and make laws and where members of the community may appeal for changes which they feel should be made. The more…

  • Think Globally; Act Locally

    I think that the idea of “think globally, act locally” (TGAL) points us in the wrong direction. If I base my local actions on what is best for everyone globally it leads to uninformed decisions because I have a very limited knowledge or control over the global repercussions of my actions. No matter how much…

  • Formalism and Details

    I have been thinking about the merits of formalism in our laid-back society. I wonder how many people even have a basic understanding of parliamentary procedure or know what Robert’s rules of order are. I suspect that more people are familiar with the details of table manners than are familiar with the details of how…

  • Wealth is Always Distributed

    I’ve been thinking about the whole distribution of wealth thing and I begin to wonder if it is really a problem. What happens when Alex Rodriguez gets paid $25 million dollars a year? (I pick him because I know his salary) I have heard arguments that if we tax the rich too heavily they will…

  • Buildingblocks of Community

    As I think about the components of an effective community I thought it would be valuable to list what I think are the essential parts of an effective community. I will try to define them just enough here to make it clear what I am thinking. If anyone finds anything I have missed, or a…

  • Building a Community

    I have been thinking about my desire to serve in an elected capacity. I said before that I did not know where I would want to serve, but I am beginning to narrow the possibilities down. I realize that what I would like to accomplish by serving in an elected capacity is to help build…

  • Subtle Biases

    Among the many places I get political news and information is the new York Time Political blog, The Caucus. Unique among those sources, The Caucus displays a tag cloud which shows the tags they use on their posts with the tags displayed in a font size proportional to how often the tag is used. It…