America's dying hinterlands are depressing to some. To me, they appear to offer the greatest opportunities ever afforded a single generation in our nation's history - if we move carefully and deliberately.
(a hopeful thread)
1/15
The precipitous decline of the American village has been one of the greatest blows to our culture to date. While many forces are responsible, what matters most today for young people is the 'power vacuum' created by this decline. 2/
Village populations are aging, leaving, and having fewer children. Economic prospects are dim, tax bases are shrinking, and cultural traditions are being forgotten.
Either an intrepid generation of young 'village revivalists' will intervene, or the towns will simply crumble. 3/
This comes at a time when two sentiments are widely present in those under the age of 35:
1. A vague sense that a return to the 'old ways' is in order. 2. A dire need for genuinely affordable housing.
Our 'dying towns' have an answer to both. 4/
Presently, there are two 'default' fates for American villages and towns: 1. Slow death and eventual abandonment (à la countryside in Japan, Italy) 2. Rapid buyout from financial interests + WFH migrants with no interest in assimilating into or reinvigorating local culture. 5/
In general, which of these fates a village succumbs to tends to depend on the level of market interest they can generate in the real estate market.
The more remote the town and unremarkable its landscape, the less likely it will be 'bought up'. 6/
Obscure and less scenic towns are even less interesting to investors and WFH migrants if they are overwhelmingly white and conservative.
Such towns present fantastic opportunities for young white conservatives and traditionalists seeking to establish a 'heartland'. 7/
Developing an IRL 'heartland region' for online RW and 'trad' communities should be a priority we are all striving for.
We know progressives have their 'Meccas': Brooklyn, Oakland, Seattle, etc. A tremendous amount of their wider success originates from solid IRL community. 8/
Initial establishment of a 'Mecca' seems to require a glut of cheap housing in order to usher in a first wave of settlement. These early adopters tend to be intrepid, adaptable, and overwhelmingly working class.
For them, the poor areas they settle are their frontier. 9/
The first wave establishes a golden era - they are cool, they are doing something new that speaks to a broader strain in the national subconscious.
They make it easier for others to follow until a critical mass is built. From there, money and political clout follow. 10/
We can do the same. If we have a genuine desire to reinvigorate the traditional values of the US or even Western culture at large, doing this would be one of the most strategic things we could do.
'Dying towns' offer many mutually beneficial possibilities on this front. 11/
This can be done in a fashion that is not at all at odds with the culture of the locals. Where Covid WFH migrants and developers ignore or even detest the local culture, the natural impulse of the traditionalist is to respect it, learn it, and assimilate. 12/
Would you relocate to an area where a concerted effort is being made by young traditionalists to revive small villages and rural areas?
13/
I am from one such dying town, and I can say that we could use a new generation of dedicated young folks to bring us back to our former glory.
If this means people coming from away, I don't mind it if they've got the right values. It seems like many there agree. 14/
I'll close by stating that I'll do a thread soon on a couple regions where such an endeavor would be likely to be successful. Thanks for reading and while I seldom ask for this, I'd appreciate some retweets. I'd really like to see more folks thinking about this. God bless.
15/15
Upstate: Instead of writing a thread, I've made a private substack for conservative rural revivalists looking to relocate. DM me your email address when you subscribe. shagbark.substack.com/p/an-introduct…
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It's easy to knock "hippie communes" but once you've lived this way it's quite difficult to go back to "normal".
Virtually everywhere I stayed in my adult life was some iteration of a collective, whether at anarchist squats or their oddly-similar antipode - military barracks. 1/
In a collective, there's always someone around to talk to. You never eat alone. Stimulating conversation takes place daily, though retreating to your room now and then is normal.
At its best, a commune also fuses the productive capabilities of many - making work easier. 2/
By contrast, the normal Western way of living is profoundly isolating. One spends most of their time with their spouse and children, but only obtains meaningful adult discourse sporadically and by deliberate effort, if at all.
Formerly, this was leavened by the "town square". 3/
Falling in love should feel like an irrefutable proof of the existence of God and like a testament to His benevolent genius. Nothing about it is ambivalent or half-hearted, I am not 'of two minds' about her, I am unequivocally hers, forever, until my life is over. Period. 1/
Just before we met I had quietly reached the conclusion that I'd probably never marry. I thought about becoming a Franciscan friar. I knew that the intersection between religious traditionalists and third-world-style off-grid hippies was tiny.
I started to accept it. 2/
Mere weeks after I began to accept this, Keturah and I had our first telephone call. Cautiously, I considered that there might not be a "catch" to what seemed like the greatest relationship prospect of my life.
I was nonetheless hesitant. Too many heartbreaks. I was wary. 3/
"Economic prosperity" as it is understood in America is utterly corrosive to beauty and historic architecture. This is clear to see in any town that got "left behind" after WWII.
Their beautiful buildings would've been torn down if they ever boomed with "lots of jobs". 1/
Cities like Gloversville and Utica have had their flagship architectures largely unmolested, almost solely because they've remained economically depressed. Had lots of "development" occurred, they would've gutted their downtowns with relish.
Luckily, it never happened. 2/
And the countryside near each of these sleepy towns has also been mostly unspoiled, again solely because of their economic irrelevance. Without a doubt, if 'investment' ever came, the powers that be would've covered our valleys with nasty subdivisions and strip malls. 3/
Increasingly convinced that the cheapest and best quality life involves 20 factors: 1. Can heat with wood legally 2. Within bicycling distance of a small city with Amtrak and some public transit (can get away with no car) 3. In a cheap housing market and can own outright
(thread)
4. Building codes nonexistent or un-enforced (makes building cheaper) 5. Minimum 90 day growing season 6. Cool summers (no A/C needed) 7. Good hunting + fishing close by 8. Vibrant Catholic community with daily Mass 9. Several 49cc mopeds 10. Lots of local friends/family
2/
11. A pickup truck shared among friends for occasional use 12. Plenty of fruit and nut trees on property 13. Classical style library with interlibrary loan 14. Daily 4+ mile walks rain or shine 15. Clean, beautiful swimming holes plentiful 16. Enough space for frequent guests
3/
I am tempted to build a UK-style "narrowboat" to live in seasonally on the Erie Canal. Really doesn't seem like too big a production to build a suitable liveaboard vessel for calm inland waters.
Free mooring system-wide, world class scenery, 5mph speed limit. 1/4
The narrowboats are 6'10" abeam and range from 20' to 50' in length. I'd think at about 25-30' it'd be good and livable on the Erie Canal. I'd keep it simple - flat-bottomed with an outboard since the canal's 12' depth is too deep to pole.
If I'm making 3mph I'm in high clover.
What's interesting about most of the canal is how remote it feels in spite of its proximity to many villages, as the water cuts mostly through quiet farmlands. Most mornings are foggy and serene.
Could tie off to a tree, have breakfast, and write all day.
In the 18th century, a sect splintered from the Russian Orthodox Church known as the Doukhobors. Known for communal living, luddite views, nudism, and arson, ~7500 of them sailed for Canada in 1899, facing persecution from Russian authorities.
They landed in Saskatchewan.
1/11
Their theology was iconoclastic, believing that God was immanently present in all human souls. Staunch pacifists and often vegetarian, they completely rejected military service and most aspects of orthodox religion. Nonetheless, they accepted the divinity of Jesus. 2/
The name "Doukhobor" was perjorative. Orthodox Church hierarchs made the name from the Russian word духоборцы, meaning "spirit-wrestler". The implication was that they were wrestling against the truth of the Faith.
They were beaten savagely and exiled to numerous nations. 3/