Shit! I just wrote a whole reply and it disappeared!!
What I said was how great this piece was. I agree with Abdulrahman about the Dalrymple book on the East India. He lives in India, is really embedded in the culture and history, and is a great intellectual and a cool writer. His grasp of the EIC and its legacies (and the fact that there have to be a number of those across the globe, some very different to each other, is a fascinating thought). Do have a look at it.
I love what you say about small, grass roots organisations being at their most effective when connected to their own place and community, and precisely NOT needing scaling up because that would water down that power and its connections.
And, the point you make re more and different stories and narratives and thoughts to challenge the fabrication of inevitability is uplifting. I’m not saying it’s easy…and the narrative is quite the downer…if it were the situation would be different…but it does seem to me to be one way, and a really valuable and creative way, of binding back the threads of life that can be so easily snipped away while tryin to build a better world.
Once again, thanks for such a great piece. Now…I’m going to hit post before this disappears for ever…
I hate it when that happens! Comments disappearing. Still bugs in this system.
On the strength of the double recommendation (and Abdulrahman's recent post about The Anarchy: https://abdulrahman.substack.com/p/a-royal-procession), I've ordered it from the bookstore. To join the ever-growing pile of books to read!
Thank you for picking up on that about not needing to scale. This is something I think about a lot. So many conversations end up stuck there: "How does this scale?" I heard an interview a few years ago that helped clarify why that bugs me. It was with someone who worked on protecting Lake Erie, and he said something about rethinking of ourselves as citizens of watersheds rather than of nations. I like that idea a lot. And every watershed is different with different needs.
It's also at the core of effective commons-based systems. They *have* to be local. They are nested within larger systems and have to work within them (that planet's climate, or air, being obvious examples), but solutions that work for one region won't for another.
And yes. Stories matter! All kinds. I appreciate your own work on that front -- I love a good story and what a way to engage us all in the world and ideas. :)
I’m on the waitlist for the Continental Divide trail. (I like to do the Badger-Two Med ones.) Doing the one-day one at Hungry Horse Ranger Station to start!
I knew about the EIC for years but until I read William Dalrymple’s The Anarchy, I really had no idea how massive and how horrific its history was. I think the book mentions that at one point, EIC composed 20% of the global GDP. Just one company. It’s unfathomable.
You reminded me of posting that wonderful passage I had marked in the book, describing an army procession that extended over 6 miles. I’ll find the book next week when I get back to NYC, inshallah.
I was thinking of you as I revised it! I remember you mentioning it as a subject you were interested in. I should really read that book. That is INCREDIBLE. 20%. I have another book on my shelf I haven't read yet titled "Outsourcing Empire," though looking at the description I'm concerned it's more sympathetic than not. I'm sure it's informative, but I'm tired of hearing how "progress" happens at the expense of everything that matters! It might not be that, though.
6 miles, whew. That's ... a lot. A lot of army, a lot of violent oppression in service of empire and capital.
Well, if you're concerned about that outlook from "Outsourcing Empire", then "The Anarchy" is the opposite of it. The author spent a massive amount of time sourcing the history from Moghul & subcontinent historians as much as he cited the EIC's records. It's such a fascinating read, and in a sense, a grim one too..
If you don't want to read the book (though I don't usually say this), there's a podcast about it called "Empire".
There's a painting of that army procession too. lemme find it haha, and I'll post them together..
Thank you so much for bringing this back to our attention. I love the idea of revising a past essay. It's something I haven't tried yet and your modeling gives me occasion to explore the idea more deeply. There's so much here that I didn't know. These dots that were never connected for me in any meaningful way. Although I understand why, it's still baffling to acknowledge how much of the history we both learn and teach are tied to myth-making on behalf of the powerful.
I have to give credit for that idea to Mike Sowden. He was republishing some of his, and we talked about that concept a while back. It really made me think about why I balk at that (because I feel like I'm cheating people by not always making it something new, which is silly when there's an important, relevant topic that can be updated and a lot of people would have forgotten or not read before). I can think of some of yours I'd reread if you reposted them! I think about your one on keynote speakers all the time.
Same here, re dots that were never connected in a meaningful way. There's so much to learn, and so much to grapple with along the lines of the kind of damage myth-making for the powerful has done. And so important, I think, as every generation watches people in power try to keep the myths intact, or create and enforce new ones.
"It is the purest kind of evil to smile and hand out some cash while snipping the threads that link us to life." Friend. Thank you for this piece and your audio as well. Feeling ALL of it as I move.
I really like your thought about the need for a different form of "we," to replace what some call the "royal we." We need a word that expresses a collective that can take action (or something in that ball park).
I like that idea. I keep inserting "the dominant society" for "we" in a lot of places when appropriate, but it's clunky and doesn't really do the job. And it doesn't cover what you're talking about -- the mutual solidarity, life-valuing "we."
So powerful and needed. So many of the stories of the American revolution are shocking to my adult ears. Armed citizens, riots in the street, neighbors turning on neighbors. I learn something new every time I read your posts 🙏🏽 and I leave feeling inspired to keep imagining a better world into being.
Which you are definitely doing ... one thing I love about reading yours is that I see the better world already being imagined into being right there. 💖
It is just wild to me how the stories of history are popularly framed versus what actually happened. Though the fact that George Washington was a land speculator, and that his interests in making money off of land he owned that the British Crown wouldn't allow him to sell might have been factors in his passion for revolution and independence, takes the cake.
These are gut wrenching times for this earth and you’re correct about how rattling it is for our children carrying such a torch to light the way forward
So powerful. I'm glad you rereleased this! It's critical to lift up this narrative and challenge what passes for success and progress.
PS Extra love for the bookends of the soundtrack with the dirt-bearing dump-truck heading to and from your neighbour's new development. Real estate...!
Haha, no kidding! Though to be fair, it's his son building a house in his backyard so it's not quite as bad. However, there is a 77-unit housing development being planned in the forest behind their house. It wouldn't be so daunting if it were actually affordable housing for anyone who lives and works here full-time, but of course that isn't the case.
We were super-connected by the sundog ambassadorship today as I live in the path of totality for today's solar eclipse. There was a sun halo most of the time (no sundog mind you -- I don't think). Not sure how/if eclipses and sun halos are technically connected, but for sure this will be tabled and the next gathering of the regional ambassadors to understand further.
Also: solar eclipse totality...? Wow. Humbling. Even for this regional sundog ambassador.
Shit! I just wrote a whole reply and it disappeared!!
What I said was how great this piece was. I agree with Abdulrahman about the Dalrymple book on the East India. He lives in India, is really embedded in the culture and history, and is a great intellectual and a cool writer. His grasp of the EIC and its legacies (and the fact that there have to be a number of those across the globe, some very different to each other, is a fascinating thought). Do have a look at it.
I love what you say about small, grass roots organisations being at their most effective when connected to their own place and community, and precisely NOT needing scaling up because that would water down that power and its connections.
And, the point you make re more and different stories and narratives and thoughts to challenge the fabrication of inevitability is uplifting. I’m not saying it’s easy…and the narrative is quite the downer…if it were the situation would be different…but it does seem to me to be one way, and a really valuable and creative way, of binding back the threads of life that can be so easily snipped away while tryin to build a better world.
Once again, thanks for such a great piece. Now…I’m going to hit post before this disappears for ever…
I hate it when that happens! Comments disappearing. Still bugs in this system.
On the strength of the double recommendation (and Abdulrahman's recent post about The Anarchy: https://abdulrahman.substack.com/p/a-royal-procession), I've ordered it from the bookstore. To join the ever-growing pile of books to read!
Thank you for picking up on that about not needing to scale. This is something I think about a lot. So many conversations end up stuck there: "How does this scale?" I heard an interview a few years ago that helped clarify why that bugs me. It was with someone who worked on protecting Lake Erie, and he said something about rethinking of ourselves as citizens of watersheds rather than of nations. I like that idea a lot. And every watershed is different with different needs.
It's also at the core of effective commons-based systems. They *have* to be local. They are nested within larger systems and have to work within them (that planet's climate, or air, being obvious examples), but solutions that work for one region won't for another.
And yes. Stories matter! All kinds. I appreciate your own work on that front -- I love a good story and what a way to engage us all in the world and ideas. :)
That’s cool: citizens of watersheds rather than of nations.
Yes, stories matter. I’m delighted you appreciate my work.
What a great read! Thank you so much for this.
Thank you, Victoria! Are you doing trail crew this year?
We are! Another front country one. I tried for the float/weed trip but missed it. You?
I’m on the waitlist for the Continental Divide trail. (I like to do the Badger-Two Med ones.) Doing the one-day one at Hungry Horse Ranger Station to start!
Thank you for reposting this Antonia.
I knew about the EIC for years but until I read William Dalrymple’s The Anarchy, I really had no idea how massive and how horrific its history was. I think the book mentions that at one point, EIC composed 20% of the global GDP. Just one company. It’s unfathomable.
You reminded me of posting that wonderful passage I had marked in the book, describing an army procession that extended over 6 miles. I’ll find the book next week when I get back to NYC, inshallah.
I was thinking of you as I revised it! I remember you mentioning it as a subject you were interested in. I should really read that book. That is INCREDIBLE. 20%. I have another book on my shelf I haven't read yet titled "Outsourcing Empire," though looking at the description I'm concerned it's more sympathetic than not. I'm sure it's informative, but I'm tired of hearing how "progress" happens at the expense of everything that matters! It might not be that, though.
6 miles, whew. That's ... a lot. A lot of army, a lot of violent oppression in service of empire and capital.
Well, if you're concerned about that outlook from "Outsourcing Empire", then "The Anarchy" is the opposite of it. The author spent a massive amount of time sourcing the history from Moghul & subcontinent historians as much as he cited the EIC's records. It's such a fascinating read, and in a sense, a grim one too..
If you don't want to read the book (though I don't usually say this), there's a podcast about it called "Empire".
There's a painting of that army procession too. lemme find it haha, and I'll post them together..
It really sounds like a fantastic book. I love that kind of deep history (obviously!). It is all grim, though.
Thank you so much for bringing this back to our attention. I love the idea of revising a past essay. It's something I haven't tried yet and your modeling gives me occasion to explore the idea more deeply. There's so much here that I didn't know. These dots that were never connected for me in any meaningful way. Although I understand why, it's still baffling to acknowledge how much of the history we both learn and teach are tied to myth-making on behalf of the powerful.
I have to give credit for that idea to Mike Sowden. He was republishing some of his, and we talked about that concept a while back. It really made me think about why I balk at that (because I feel like I'm cheating people by not always making it something new, which is silly when there's an important, relevant topic that can be updated and a lot of people would have forgotten or not read before). I can think of some of yours I'd reread if you reposted them! I think about your one on keynote speakers all the time.
Same here, re dots that were never connected in a meaningful way. There's so much to learn, and so much to grapple with along the lines of the kind of damage myth-making for the powerful has done. And so important, I think, as every generation watches people in power try to keep the myths intact, or create and enforce new ones.
"It is the purest kind of evil to smile and hand out some cash while snipping the threads that link us to life." Friend. Thank you for this piece and your audio as well. Feeling ALL of it as I move.
So grateful for you, my friend!
I really like your thought about the need for a different form of "we," to replace what some call the "royal we." We need a word that expresses a collective that can take action (or something in that ball park).
I like that idea. I keep inserting "the dominant society" for "we" in a lot of places when appropriate, but it's clunky and doesn't really do the job. And it doesn't cover what you're talking about -- the mutual solidarity, life-valuing "we."
So powerful and needed. So many of the stories of the American revolution are shocking to my adult ears. Armed citizens, riots in the street, neighbors turning on neighbors. I learn something new every time I read your posts 🙏🏽 and I leave feeling inspired to keep imagining a better world into being.
Which you are definitely doing ... one thing I love about reading yours is that I see the better world already being imagined into being right there. 💖
It is just wild to me how the stories of history are popularly framed versus what actually happened. Though the fact that George Washington was a land speculator, and that his interests in making money off of land he owned that the British Crown wouldn't allow him to sell might have been factors in his passion for revolution and independence, takes the cake.
😮 wow. Just wow.
I’ve been on substack over a year (if memory serves). Just made this my first restack.
Oh wow. That is quite a compliment, thank you! And thank you for reading.
Fire in the belly is needed .
These are gut wrenching times for this earth and you’re correct about how rattling it is for our children carrying such a torch to light the way forward
I'm lucky to be connected to good people in the world carrying the torches -- and your kids and grandkids are lucky, too!
Thanks for this. A powerful read.
Thank you, Tom.
So powerful. I'm glad you rereleased this! It's critical to lift up this narrative and challenge what passes for success and progress.
PS Extra love for the bookends of the soundtrack with the dirt-bearing dump-truck heading to and from your neighbour's new development. Real estate...!
Haha, no kidding! Though to be fair, it's his son building a house in his backyard so it's not quite as bad. However, there is a 77-unit housing development being planned in the forest behind their house. It wouldn't be so daunting if it were actually affordable housing for anyone who lives and works here full-time, but of course that isn't the case.
Thank you for reading -- so glad we're connected.
We were super-connected by the sundog ambassadorship today as I live in the path of totality for today's solar eclipse. There was a sun halo most of the time (no sundog mind you -- I don't think). Not sure how/if eclipses and sun halos are technically connected, but for sure this will be tabled and the next gathering of the regional ambassadors to understand further.
Also: solar eclipse totality...? Wow. Humbling. Even for this regional sundog ambassador.
That is so cool! I am so, so glad you were right in the path and got to see it. How beautiful. ☀️