"Existential powerlessness is a compelling factor of the behavioral environment of the North American metropolis. The flight to the suburbs is a flight to firm ground, to a base where one can re-establish one's efficacy, can impose control over the environment."
-- David Ley, 1974
"One does not sell the earth upon which the people walk."
-- Crazy Horse, late 1800s*
"I never said the land was mine to do with it as I chose. The one who has the right to dispose of it is the one who has created it. I claim a right to live on my land, and accord you the privilege to live on yours."
-- Chief Joseph of the Nez Piercés, late 1800s
We all want a space of effective control, where we decide what happens and where we freely put our mark. Part of this is the need to express ourselves in style, but it is also a desire to have a place where we are needed or essential. We want a place where we can 'be ourselves.' We play this out with who we choose as friends, what work we choose to do, the homes we buy, and the cars we drive. We want to be around people who like us, people who respect us, and people who know us. Power has something to do with everything humans do, and as we think about places and participating in places where people feel belonging, we must create space for people to wield power in such a way that it serves others.
The private home and fancy cars represent two forms of these spaces of effective control. Large homes in the Heritage Hill neighborhood are public displays of tranquility and order. The large fancy cars with rap blaring communicate power in another way--dominating public spaces with private influence. Such expressions make a space 'our space' or 'my space' as the case may be. Families and groups of friends have a role in shaping the environment they occupy. Making our mark in this way is essential to the feeling of belonging. We all have a role in creating the places that we inhabit, and we believe that we need to take part in creating to belong and even to be human. Without having a role--a space of private efficacy--we feel listless and miserable. We need to allow each other this role--to leave space for self-determined action--in order to respect one another.
Of course, there are other ways to consider power. Some Native American tribes have a different narrative of belonging. Instead of asserting dominance over the landscape with a fancy car or a fine house, the traditional view is to recognize one's self and one's people as a part of the landscape. Chief Joseph said, "The earth and myself are of one mind. The measure of the land and the measure of our bodies are the same." Rather than continually expressing independence to feel more human--an American trope if you will--we can express and enjoy our interdependence. We can play our part fully, in recognition and sensitivity to the many parts played before and around us. I believe such a sensitivity will help us play our part best. We listen to the situation first, and then we can act in harmony with the situation. We do not have to out do one another all the time, but we can contribute to a shared whole.
Philippians 2: 1-11:
If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Your attitude should be the same as Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with
God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death--
even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
-- David Ley, 1974
"One does not sell the earth upon which the people walk."
-- Crazy Horse, late 1800s*
"I never said the land was mine to do with it as I chose. The one who has the right to dispose of it is the one who has created it. I claim a right to live on my land, and accord you the privilege to live on yours."
-- Chief Joseph of the Nez Piercés, late 1800s
We all want a space of effective control, where we decide what happens and where we freely put our mark. Part of this is the need to express ourselves in style, but it is also a desire to have a place where we are needed or essential. We want a place where we can 'be ourselves.' We play this out with who we choose as friends, what work we choose to do, the homes we buy, and the cars we drive. We want to be around people who like us, people who respect us, and people who know us. Power has something to do with everything humans do, and as we think about places and participating in places where people feel belonging, we must create space for people to wield power in such a way that it serves others.
The private home and fancy cars represent two forms of these spaces of effective control. Large homes in the Heritage Hill neighborhood are public displays of tranquility and order. The large fancy cars with rap blaring communicate power in another way--dominating public spaces with private influence. Such expressions make a space 'our space' or 'my space' as the case may be. Families and groups of friends have a role in shaping the environment they occupy. Making our mark in this way is essential to the feeling of belonging. We all have a role in creating the places that we inhabit, and we believe that we need to take part in creating to belong and even to be human. Without having a role--a space of private efficacy--we feel listless and miserable. We need to allow each other this role--to leave space for self-determined action--in order to respect one another.
Of course, there are other ways to consider power. Some Native American tribes have a different narrative of belonging. Instead of asserting dominance over the landscape with a fancy car or a fine house, the traditional view is to recognize one's self and one's people as a part of the landscape. Chief Joseph said, "The earth and myself are of one mind. The measure of the land and the measure of our bodies are the same." Rather than continually expressing independence to feel more human--an American trope if you will--we can express and enjoy our interdependence. We can play our part fully, in recognition and sensitivity to the many parts played before and around us. I believe such a sensitivity will help us play our part best. We listen to the situation first, and then we can act in harmony with the situation. We do not have to out do one another all the time, but we can contribute to a shared whole.
Ley, D. (1974). The city beyond good and evil: reflections on Christian and Marxist
interpretations. Antipode, 6(1), 66-73.
*All First Nations quotes from Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown
Philippians 2: 1-11:
If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Your attitude should be the same as Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with
God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death--
even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
What occurs to me as I read this Gabe is that independence and interdependence is another of those polarities to be managed at all times. I ,might name the higher purpose as Peace/Shalom, The Deeper fear chaos/harm/death.
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