Visualizing Ecology

Re: Two teens arrested for alleged threats

The growing violence in our schools indicates that as a nation, we are failing to teach our children peaceful means to create change. The recent arrest of two teenage boys from Lynnwood, age 13, for alleged threats only highlights this paradigm of detachment. Our steps to create community and encourage cooperation thus far have been misguided.

When we spend $43 million to expand roads, as proposed in Marysville, it encourages isolation by stripping funds from projects to build sustainable communities, such as gardens, parks, and civic services. Furthermore, the growth of new housing spreading throughout King County keeps citizens segregated by catering to a certain income bracket. Not everyone in Lynnwood has $400 thousand to spend. While the most convenient land is bought up, the unfortunate are pushed to city fringes. How does society benefit when the poor are invisible and the public sphere no longer embodies the common good? Will the future hold a society of frigid individuals, of competition and isolation, and what can be done to prevent this?

The choices we make are more important then the Virginia Tech Massacre because they are the future. We can create a community that fosters peace and prosperity and raises the quality of life for all. We decide if we are making a neighborhood or a population. Buying locally grown foods, focusing funds on community projects, and encouraging domestic businesses can create a city of sustainability with a distinct cultural locality. When we create beautiful places to live in we teach our children to create change through cooperation and diplomacy.

Jonathan Shimazu
shijon31@evergreen.edu

Gaviotas Questions

How did the treatment of individuals in gaviotas society contribute to it's sustainability?
What did Gaviotas have that modern society lacks?