Let's Break It
Narrowing in on an American Revival
Welcome to the kitchen. I think something is burning. Told you about ruining the instant rice, right? Boiled the water down so far, the plastic bag melted. D’oh!
This kitchen is in my head.
I’ve gone from writing morose poetry about the decline of society to (nearly) action. (Although a dip into poetry is always a clear and present danger.) Here’s what I’ve cooked up. I could use your feedback.
The Task
Build a “legion of hope”, invite others to join me in bringing our best to the nation, and improve ourselves while doing so.
Bring this to two places at first: Libraries, and schools. (Through talks and work sessions.)
The Format
There are three key points: 1. I don’t know. 2. I’d like to find out. 3. Won’t you join me?
The theme? Let’s break it. The idea, that is. Then we can put it back together, change what doesn’t work, and try it again. That’s how I learned to build go karts and fix cars.
The Outline for a Talk
Introduce the idea of Let’s Break It. “I’m here to invite you on a project with me. Please find the weak places. Together, we can build something strong.”
Define the problem. For schools, I’d start with the corrosive effects of social media. For adult audiences, polarization seems a worthy start. But, this would be only a small part of the discussion. We can all feel something in the air, and there are thousands of better minds than mind to outline it. That’s been done. What do we do about it?
Offer a general solution: Instead of getting mired down in who’s doing what, substitute the strife of screens and the clouds of war with positive, tangible action. The guys building my house showed me this. I’d be inside blogging about foundations of thought. They were outside, pouring ones of concrete. “We’re in a hard time. We could use a good athlete/doctor/entrepreneur/student/
sibling/child/citizen right about now. You could be so much more, and we’d all be the better for it. The cyberbullying and neighborly division might just fall away if we turned to something better, and something real. At the minimum, you’ll be better for it. And so will I. That seems like a good start.”
Offer a specific solution. Here’s where I got stuck. How does this move from a general “do better” to a path where people can? What, invite kids to post on social media? Talk about HashtagGimmick. And #Counterproductive. Start a revolution? Write a code of conduct, a book with a checklist? At best I’d be a phony, at worst I’d be a cult leader. Then it hit me: I can only offer what I’m doing. Sure, I’ll give some examples (learn an instrument, start a business, work out, study harder, etc), but I can’t tell you what to do. “In fact, I suspect you already know what you could be doing. Here’s what I’ve been up to.”
Perhaps ways to share our progress with each other would be productive: correspondence, conversation, etc. This blog might serve as a hub.
If hard times create strong men , who create good times, who create weak men, who create hard times is true, the question becomes: how do you create strong men? (And women, of course.)
The answer that I’m interested in is at the individual level, not the State. (Although it’s certainly not the only answer.)
It’s like Havel says, pre-political. It’s based on telling the truth and aiming to live a good life. (Check out his The Power of the Powerless essay for more.)
Therefore, I can’t tell you. But I can invite you.
What do you think? It’s a start.
But let’s break it.
-Josh
Putting a coat of polyurethane on the bookshelves late last night