To repair or replace, that is the question

We now have a new coffee maker. The Braun unit we got a little less than two years ago, as we recall, died this morning. The Braun electric shaver we bought 3 or 4 years ago fell apart last week. Meanwhile, we're still trying to figure out what to get to replace the door closer on the door between the garage and the house. The spring on the old one broke early this week. The company that originally made it is no longer in business. Then, today the washing machine started acting up. We're getting just a little twitchy about the robustness and longevity  of the products being made by our wonderful global, neoliberal, capitalist economy, particularly since there's not yet significant "right to repair" legislation in place.

So, in order to relax and take our mind off of our admittedly minor trials and tribulations, today we headed for our local book store to pick up our copy of Tom Philpott's Perilous Bounty: The Looming Collapse of American Farming and How We Can Prevent It. We're curious to see if we can get a better handle on how much of our agriculture is dedicated to producing industrial feedstocks in the form of field corn and soy beans that in turn produce ethanol and biodiesel and are also sold for export. Meanwhile, we watch the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico increase, topsoil erode much faster than it can be regenerated and water quality, aquifers and surface water become diminished in quantity and/or quality. If we end up with insufficient food to eat and water to drink and clean air to breathe, a pandemic could be less worrisome.

geese high over us

Photo by J. Harrington

Yes, today we're back in Eeyore mode. Despite the Biden-Harris administration's valiant efforts, too many politicians have a view that doesn't extend beyond the next election cycle. They need to learn what it's like to be unemployed and worried about where their next meal is coming from. We also need to figure out how to keep, or make, any corporate entity from becoming "too big to fail." Do you think America is ready yet for the formation of a luddite political party?

What We Need Is Here

by Wendell Berry

Geese appear high over us,
pass, and the sky closes. Abandon,
as in love or sleep, holds
them to their way, clear
in the ancient faith: what we need
is here. And we pray, not
for new earth or heaven, but to be
quiet in heart, and in eye,
clear. What we need is here.

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