I live in a remote-ish mountain region in New Mexico. It is a relatively poor town – lots of people relying on the local food bank, free-cycling, odd jobs, etc. There are liberals and conservatives (I use the Common American Usage here), anarchists and libertarians, communists, socialists, hippies etc etc. In other words: people of all stripes. One thing I have noticed is the gap between liberals and conservatives in reaction to the economic crisis:
Conservatives:
“Get a gun, stockpile canned goods and gold. Generator. Create defensive perimeter. Stockpile fuel. Self-sufficiency and self-defence”
Liberals:
“Community garden. Food bank. Clothing drive. New Free Box. Share firewood, water, living space. Fundraiser. Festival.”
As much as the latter group annoys with their earnestness, believe in nonsense, lack of basic economics understanding and generally poorer work ethic, conviction that “the man” is out to get them, they really do have a better attitude.
It’s amazing: the people who cannot plan, cannot organize, and generally do not exhibit the greatest skill-set are the ones who try while the planners, organizers and generally more skilled retreat into their own. If there was some way to blend the two, that would be formidable. Of course, such has been the power of the free market when times are good and the economy is growing.
