GREAT GRASS MAKES GREAT BEEF

Does American business produce what Americans want, or does American business make Americans want what they produce?

Don’t get me wrong. I am not mad at capitalism. I participate myself in my own small way. The B-B Ranch sells honey, beeswax, bees, solitary bee nests and bee hives. But I also think that a lot of what business does is convince people that they want what they make, instead of making what people want.

I bought a shotgun at Wal-Mart a year or so ago. I couldn’t leave the store until the background check was completed. That turned out to be about three hours. I am now very familiar with the products available in Wal-Mart. I probably don’t need ninety percent of it, and that only on occasion.

Do people want campers, boats, sporting goods, ten pair of shoes, jewelry, musical instruments, new dishes, and on and on? Or do people want close families, good friends, peaceful lives, fulfilling goals, meaningful work, and freedom? How many ads on television make it appear that the way to have the latter is to own the former.

In fact, people seldom own things. Things own people. You may spend a weekend with your family on the boat. But you will spend many hours before and after the outing getting the boat ready, cleaning the boat up, paying for the boat, insuring the boat, buying the boat, repairing the boat, and talking about boats. Most of that won’t be done with your family, but will, instead take you away from your family. You probably could have spent more time with them on a hike, reading together, or playing a game.

If you own a boat don’t be mad at me. The same thing can be said of guitars and mandolins, my personal weaknesses. My point is that people sometimes don’t think very carefully about what they really want to produce. Successful marriages, independent children, strong communities, beautiful farms are all forms of production also.

However, it’s difficult to sell them. Now honey! That will bring you good health and delicious toast.

DIVIDED

We are a divided people. We are no longer Americans. We are Black Americans, Spanish Americans, Italian Americans, and multicultural Americans. How is this different than a group of tribesmen?

But perhaps more importantly, we are divided from our purpose. This began when our living became separated from our work. I noticed this first when I visited rural Kentucky and went in search of a dulcimer. I had wanted to buy a dulcimer to learn to play and had planned an extended trip to shop for one. However, our trip was cut short and I found myself with just one afternoon in which to find a handmade dulcimer. My daughter and I went shopping.

We had the name of a man and an obscure rural address. After driving around for some time, even with a Google map, we had not found the home we were looking for. (Google is not really reliable once you leave paved roads.) There were a few homes along the road and we stopped at several, but no one seemed to know which house we were looking for.

There was an old, small house, back off of the road considerably, that we eventually approached. An elderly woman came out onto the small porch and we told her we were looking for a man who made dulcimers. She went out back and called her husband from a small shed. Mr. James Horn from Finchville, KY came out to visit with us. He eventually brought out some of his dulcimers to the front porch and played for us. His “pride and joy” wasn’t for sale, but I purchased a beautiful instrument from him. His business card said he was the maker of “Handcrafted Mountain Dulcimers”.

But what is important is how his home was set back off the road. I have noticed that in older rural areas, the homes are set back off the road. On modern hobby farms the homes are set close to the road. This, perhaps more than any other characteristic divides America, and it is clear now who is the minority.

You see, when the home is set close to the road it is easier to go to town, but it may take considerable effort to go to the barn or out to the field. But when the home is set back off the road it is easier to go to the barn and work the land. We are divided people.