Re: Oh, sad New Mexico, we love, we love you so | Chris Cervini

Posted by Carl Tollander on Apr 06, 2014; 12:44am
URL: http://friam.383.s1.nabble.com/Oh-sad-New-Mexico-we-love-we-love-you-so-Chris-Cervini-tp7585124p7585131.html

OK, I'm going to disagree with some of the article and the associated comments.

First, a few words from Bruce Sterling:
"A small, beautiful modest, hand-crafted society,
living in harmony with its eco-region,
relentlessly parsimonious in it's use of energy and resources,
can't learn enough about itself to survive."

How many of us came here with some romantic notion of those first 4 lines, at least somewhere in the back of our heads?
I suggest that a significant part of the problems are that we see New Mexico as apart from the rest of the world, geographically
and culturally.    And yet our proposed solutions are in many respects, the solutions for which other areas have a large head start.

Human development funds?  Diversify the energy economy?  Invest in early childhood?  Broadband?  
Let's say you spiff all that up by 25%.   What do you get?  The state still has a small population so percentage increases
are still not going to make us more competitive with states with larger populations than Rhode Island.

I've actually thought a bit about #5:  

"Make Native Americans and traditional Hispanic communities part of the solution.
One thing our competition can never take away from us: New Mexico is blessed with a unique and rich cultural tradition unlike any other in the WORLD. Artisans, craftsman and people keeping community traditions alive make our state special. New Mexico should be a global destination for seekers who want to experience our culture, our cuisine and our rugged beauty."

Well, hmmm.   My first reaction was, I think the author needs to get out more.   My own sense is that traditions are indeed conversations.   If we stop isolating the people but isolate the traditions, community activity turns to mining, casinos, shopping centers, or high-end craft with cultural themes for the wealthy tourists from Dallas.   All very well, people gotta eat and of course there is plenty of well-earned guilt for history to be flogged on all sides.

However, here is a seed.  These things we think of as desirable for development arise from our experiences outside of NM.   We can leverage our large reserves and small population and bring things back and make them our own in our own way.   Let's institutionalize getting out more.   A lot more.   For everybody.   The more alien to what you know the better.   Go to Sweden, India, Japan, Africa.

I propose that we work to ensure that every citizen of the state has the incentive and opportunity to spend travel time in a culture not their own, and to actively welcome people from other cultures to NM.

There would of course be many ways to set this up using said reserves, as well as many obstacles.  There do not initially seem to be ways to quantify the results.   Not everybody will want to go.   Some folks won't come back.   But the intensive exchange of ideas, techniques, new ways of doing things in a place where you can still see the stars could start to make it that place we imagined it would be.  Anybody can do tax incentives, and they do, but few if any could match that ferment with the landscape.   

People don't come and stay and develop because you have nifty culture.  They come and stay and develop because you make nifty culture.  Getting out may be the way we learn enough about ourselves as a state to survive.

On 4/5/14, 9:47 AM, Tom Johnson wrote:

I think this guy pretty well nailed it.  So what can we do?
-Tom

http://chriscervini.com/2014/04/01/oh-sad-new-mexico-we-love-we-love-you-so/

===================================
Tom Johnson - Inst. for Analytic Journalism
Santa Fe, NM
[hidden email].                505-473-9646
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