Makoto Fujimura posted this week from a speech he gave. The post included a story about a Fred Danback, who sacrificed his seniority at his factory job after constantly bringing up how the plant was destroying the livelihood of local fisherman. He was demoted to janitor, which gained him significant access to all parts of the manufacturing facility. The notes and maps he made while cleaning were used in court. Fujimura closes this story with the following observations:
1) We need to be willing to be demoted
2) We need to remember our first love
3) We need to take notes
a) Become a custodian
To hold the “keys” of culture we may have to endure demotions.
By being demoted, we may gain a humble authority (keys) to unlock doors of cultural “factories”.
In September I mentioned, briefly, a verse in Romans that comes back to my mind with some regularity, reminding us that the Potter (God) has the right to make vesse...
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The danger of the title “Consumer”From: theaestheticelevator.com
Post Date: 2008-03-04 18:00:54
James Kunslter , author and critic of suburbia and proponent of New Urbanism, said something very interesting and important in a podcast referred to me by a friend:
“Please, please stop referring to yourselves as consumers, OK. Consumers are different than citizens. Consumers do not have obligations, responsibilities and duties to their fellow human beings.”
He goes on to suggest that by referring to ourselves — I might add that even by subconsciously thinking of ours...
more The problem with ecoterrorismFrom: theaestheticelevator.com
Post Date: 2008-03-04 09:13:27
It’s completely beyond me as to how people think acts of violence such as this will actually change the way the victims think and act.
Note the specific order in the sentence above: “Think” and then “act.” People’s actions, in this case building very large, energy hoarding houses, aren’t likely to change until their worldview or personal values change. It seems to me that all such ecoterrorism will only serve to anger people; I really don...
more American excess or architectural ingenuity?From: theaestheticelevator.com
Post Date: 2008-03-09 17:28:25
I’m presently attending a large convention in Nashville, Tennessee. The event is being held in a gargantuan venue that calls itself the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center. Now that I’ve had a day to wander around in the place I thought I’d pass along the low-down.
American Excess
Most of me wanted to bemoan this structure as American excess. With waterfalls and boat tours under the expansive atriums it feels a lot more like a theme park than a hotel. Overpr...
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