in these posts i often rail against the stylized "urban" and "rural" ... it is clear that much of the heartache and isolation in urban life is attributable to a falling from rural communal values (though in many communities instead as a dissonance between their own communal values and that of the urban whole).

i don't yet understand what should be next to come ... i am drawn to the freedom and open-mindedness of urban society ... yet i yearn for the communal and spiritual groundedness of rural life. I have yet to see an example where these values have been seamlessly expressed -- I especially struggle against the racially or religiously homogeneous examples in the world, which may bubble to our minds in this discussion.

admittedly, I often question my own values. I have accepted other mildly contradictory paradigms in my life, why is my current state of mind so truthful? As this state of mind is quite oppositional to the contemporary human identity, it is sometimes difficult to not find myself struggling against the naturalizing tendencies of human society.

Yesterday I discovered a significant purpose of this mindset ... yet it is a purpose borne of necessity, hopefully not overstated: true anti-racism is achieved through destruction of the identity (as opposed to the ego per se).

Within this fast moving, cosmopolitan society we come in contact with many people who we expect to never interact with again -- or if we do, it would be at arms length. How are non-monetized conflicts to be resolved in this space? I would contend that the most common non-verbal and non-physical expressions of retribution is attribution of a wrong to a race, a gender, an age, a lifestyle ... whatever. People are grasping for ways to punish other people that they've judged (for evidence see the success of crime dramas, such as the 'Law and Order' production machine), when there is no formal monetary recourse, and legal recourse is far too cumbersome, the bad blood often falls to prejudice.

Loosing identity is a very painful experience ... blameful fingers are pointed towards urbanism and capitalism ... it is becoming clear that these sorts of neutral conditions cannot be scapegoated ... if deeper causes are to be identified, the "religion" of modernity, of knowledge, might be taken to task.

Extremism

... continuing to pick and choose our own realities as the world becomes more isolated, differentiated, polarized

Modern humans seek to either pollute their minds ("antisocial") or uphold an unexamined collective sense of reality... precious few have poked at reality yet avoided the idle traps of the normal world

These dangers expand to the extent that social nous is unrepresentative of individually held values and that such contradictions are broadcast and perceived

Weakened minds are easy fodder for this cold world