Unlocking The Authority From Within: Open_Notes 9

a vibrant, robust life of community and associations; citizens joined together; the *Spirit of Liberty* is local - society loose, open, engaged - America is no longer engaged [where *trust* grows], neighbors no longer trust one another; common interest, play, worship is on the decline; social-capital is on the decline, institutions are on the decline; more individualism = we no longer share the same community -- in early America the economy was built into the *local* social economy, no big corporations, society was open and engaged; after the Civil War, oil was found / large corporations, economic sector / regulations and big government [the corporate economy]; post-WWII / present: era of big government, big business; civil society increasingly crushed; individuals now naked, no control over their own situations in the entertainment-corporate economy [civil society displaced, ie., sports now professional entertainment, bought-and-sold; common ideals lost] - America's identity split; in civil society we are citizens, in the corporate society we are consumers-customers-clients, we are no longer citizens; we now vote with our dollars, our consumer tastes, our private desires vs. our community needs, the needs to develop healthy culture - our private choices have community consequences - democracy is NOT just freedom to buy !!

Unlocking The Authority From Within: Open_Notes 9