Sunday, May 12, 2013

Unfettered and alive

“Mothers and fathers throughout the land / Don't criticize what you can’t understand / Your sons and your daughters are beyond your command / The old road is rapidly aging / Please get out of the new one if you can’t lend a hand / For the times they are a-changing.” 
The way I see it, I have every reason to feel optimistic. Young people are revitalizing the land. Men and women in equal measure. And they’re not doing it the same way as before. I see something different. More like a fusion of local culture with global ideas. Using modern technology. Bringing together communities of like-minded people faster and less fettered than before. Whether or not this is sustainable is too soon to tell. At present I’d say it’s inexplicable. More like life according to Lao Tzu: “The way that can be spoken is not the way / Nameless is the origin of heaven and earth.” Even in Tijuana, young entrepreneurs and artists are reclaiming the streets ..giving wide berth to the adverse conditions bestowed by prior generations. They have more in common with their counterparts in Mexico City, Los Angeles and other metropolises. In L.A, tech firms founded by women are replenishing the city. Unimpeded by the Bay Area’s male-dominated programmer culture, they’re using their expertise in retail, entertainment, advertising and media to build digital companies whose products and services are aimed at other women. I suppose if you’re stuck in prior ways of doing things you won’t have as much reason to feel optimistic.

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