James Howard Kunstler: The tragedy of suburbia
This presentation made me want to cheer. Kunstler gets it.
A few money quotes:
"We can't overestimate the amount of despair we are generating with places like this."
"The salient problem about this is that these are places that are not worth caring about."
"The public realm has to inform us not only where we are geographically but where we are in our culture."
"We are entering an ethical period of change in the world and certainly in America, the period that will be characterized by the end of the cheap oil era."
"We are going to have to do everything very differently, and America's not prepared. We are sleepwalking into the future."
(Hat tip: Communist Robot.)
I present to you Subdivisions by RUSH:
ReplyDeleteSprawling on the fringes of the city
In geometric order
An insulated border
In between the bright lights
And the far unlit unknown
Growing up it all seems so one-sided
Opinions all provided
The future pre-decided
Detached and subdivided
In the mass production zone
Nowhere is the dreamer
Or the misfit so alone
Subdivisions ---
In the high school halls
In the shopping malls
Conform or be cast out
Subdivisions ---
In the basement bars
In the backs of cars
Be cool or be cast out
Any escape might help to smooth
The unattractive truth
But the suburbs have no charms to soothe
The restless dreams of youth
Drawn like moths we drift into the city
The timeless old attraction
Cruising for the action
Lit up like a firefly
Just to feel the living night
Some will sell their dreams for small desires
Or lose the race to rats
Get caught in ticking traps
And start to dream of somewhere
To relax their restless flight
Somewhere out of a memory
Of lighted streets on quiet nights...
Yup, Rush got it years ago. This song was my "theme" in high school.
ReplyDeleteMaybe Rush isn't so bad after all.
ReplyDelete