Quote from Stewart Brand

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rpmhart333

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Just found this in a file of mine, circa 1971...
"Nomads live when citizens perish".
Travel your path safely, sisters and brothers...see you when they coincide.
 
Don't understand.
It's the ol' adaptability principle. Many people who own stix n' brix will stay in the path of the oncoming Cat 5 hurricane or F-5 tornado because they're "safe" in their inviolable sanctuary surrounded by all their Stuff. 9 out of 10 dentists agree it's harder to hit a moving target...take that from a Viet Vet. We dodged a LOT, being nomads of the helicopter sky.
 
There are many people who cleave to each other in a stationary realm for a sense of security. Whether it be in a town, small village, or even in an apartment building. (a sense of security that may be dubious) Those who are mobile are able to move to safer surroundings more quickly. (even if they just have a "Bug Out" rig to flee in)

This topic reminds me of something Aristotle said long ago:

"All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsion, habit, reason, passion, and desire."
 
Some of my favorite tidbits of wisdom from my military time are a crowd of two or more is a good place for a grenade and “Lord lead me to the safe side!” was displayed on a poster as when ambushed running toward the riffle fire is usually the safest way to go. Camping in the middle of a desert it is difficult to have something deadly fall on your head, tell me again why I need this on my head? Being mobile is essential to staying alive, learn to run quickly, quietly and early.
 
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"Nomads live when citizens perish".
And citizens live when nomads perish. It has worked both ways over the centuries. Some are better equipped to deal with some catastrophes, some with others. 20th/21st century life has not been kind to the kind of nomads probably referred to in that quote.

Still, food for thought.

I wonder what that author had in mind when he contrasted "nomad" with "citizen."
 
Owning a home has always been a sign and a source of stability, and many people cling to them, even when conditions get bad, for as long as they can.

I looked up the number of homeless people in 2022, and the estimate was 500,000 to 600,000, but they don't separate true homeless (houseless) people from the drunks and druggies.

During the Great Depression (1930s and 1940s), the homeless count was 2 million.

The current (2022) estimate by statistics.com is 3 million Americans living in vehicles.

Adaptation is crucial for survival.
 
Wasn’t Stewart Brand the guy that created the “Whole Earth Catalog” and it had a reading list that proclaimed if you read the entire list you would be better educated than most people with several years of college education.
 
Wasn’t Stewart Brand the guy that created the “Whole Earth Catalog” and it had a reading list that proclaimed if you read the entire list you would be better educated than most people with several years of college education.
Yes, Brand was the creator of the WEC...I still have my original copy of it. Part of my youth, and it was mind-expanding if not mind blowing. I still go back to it on occasion when I'm trying to explain concepts about thinkin' outside the box to the youngun's. Its subtitle was "Index to Tools". Was then, and to an extent still is. The reading list you mention puts me in mind of the young Frank Zappa's quote: "If you truly value your mind, drop out of school and go to a library."
 
It really opened my eyes to the fact most of people in the United States living in remote poor rural communities in the 60’s had no idea what was going on outside in the cities but had been doing things like homesteading, home schooling and using self reliance skills for years the rest of the country was just rediscovering and trying to promote. If my mom saw these adds she would be getting the broom!
 
Yes, Brand was the creator of the WEC...I still have my original copy of it. Part of my youth, and it was mind-expanding if not mind blowing. I still go back to it on occasion when I'm trying to explain concepts about thinkin' outside the box to the youngun's. Its subtitle was "Index to Tools". Was then, and to an extent still is. The reading list you mention puts me in mind of the young Frank Zappa's quote: "If you truly value your mind, drop out of school and go to a library."
Or you could do both. It was the library that pointed me toward my real interests though, so at least for me, the library was far more important. And still is. College, including graduate school, lasted for less than 10 years. But since I was 6 or so, I've never been without a book to read for "fun", and I could never have afforded my own book habit!
 
It really opened my eyes to the fact most of people in the United States living in remote poor rural communities in the 60’s had no idea what was going on outside in the cities but had been doing things like homesteading, home schooling and using self reliance skills for years the rest of the country was just rediscovering and trying to promote. If my mom saw these adds she would be getting the broom!
My wife was at one time a high school and then college instructor in the craft of Oral History and was aligned with the Foxfire project in Appalachia. We collected a lot of local histories and instructed and performed in Living History for kids for decades here in the Northwest. Haven't read Foxfire in years, but I'll bet it's as interesting today.
And if any of you are readers and want something in the historical line,
 
I just noticed that my last line from my last entry was somehow deleted, and I'm sure it was on their when I hit "Post Reply". Anyway, it was a recommendation for the book "Songcatcher" by Sharyn McCrumb...for readers interested in the weavings of history. Great author. And if this gets cut off, it'd be appreciated if someone'd tell me what's wrong with recommending a favorite book.
 
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