The Urban and Suburban Blight

Could you come up with a better illustration by means of juxtaposition between urban/suburban and rural?

My take: Urban/suburban is where the fear-driven grazers congregate. Grazing animals like population density because it implies the safety of the herd or flock. If everyone’s an equal grazer, then one prey target is as good as another and chances are it won’t be you. Social adherence is rule #1—you don’t want your prey-mate ratting you out to the predators. Conform, be one of the pack; solidarity, one for all and all for…well, themselves. Don’t stand above, or the herd will make sure you stand OUT. This is a prime environment for parasitism, as it can go undetected. Indeed, often, the most successful parasites go not only undetected; but most often, they are heralded as the most virtuous. Co-dependency emanates from dishonest and lazy dependency.

Conversely, rural is where the self-sufficient resource planners and managers congregate. They deal with each other as partners, traders, mutual providers in a naturally occurring division of labor—the starkest example of which is that you won’t see women doing men’s work and you won’t see men doing women’s work. From there, you have many layers and levels of self-directed cooperation. This is an impossible environment for parasitism because full-scope accounting is always in play, written or unwritten. It’s a prime environment to create real and tangible values for yourself, family, and villagers. Your virtue is rooted in what you honestly produce, and not the words, platitudes, slogans, and bromides you utter and preach. Virtue is recognized, not bestowed. Co-reliance emanates from discipline, thought, control, honesty, and hard work.

Two photos are of schools in densely urban Bangkok. Two are of last Tuesday’s Mother’s Day honoring at the rural village school, 200 meters down from where I sit.