All kinds of goodies pop up and surprise me.
I’m beginning to conceive a world where there are no stores, only trade markets.
And where a very small business can go public without severe government intervention.
And where voters decide how their tax dollars get spent.
And where citizens take to the streets or pull up their hoodies to stand up for their rights.
And where flowers of communal gardens replace lonely urban lots.
Hey, wait a minute. I think I hear something… When the moon is in the seventh house…
QUESTION: could it be that we’re in the Age of Aquarius? What are the signs? What are you seeing that we are doing better as a people than maybe ever before? Go ahead, folks, gimme the dirt! And keep on singing…let the sun shine in!
revelgardener 
electric internet love until we hit the street corner again tomorrow
Great words and photos
Thank you!
Your description sounds a lot like the USA- around 1900!
So many things are better now than ever- most at a cost. Medicine, transportation, and availability of food to mention a few. All started out as great ideas, and at varying rates began to rear their downsides. Medicine- around 30,000 killed by mistakes each year in the USA. Transportation- around 40,000 killed each year in auto accidents in the USA. Food- chemicals, pesticides, and genetic modifications to our food supply.
Like yin and yang, every good or bad has it’s counterpart, and no matter how you try to cover up the downside it is still there. So, are we are in the age of Aquarius? That depends. If you start your day with a $6 super duper frozen espresso and end your day to a nice big meal and an expensive wine you’re ‘in the age’. Take a train or bus to work, go home, eat, and bills are more or less paid on time- you’re ‘in the age’. Out of work, can’t pay your bills, barely paying rent? You’re still ‘in the age’- just the wrong part of it. I think The Age of Aquarius, or whatever you want to call this time of our history doesn’t matter. What does matter is how this period of history will be looked upon in the future. We have amazing advances, many problems which can be solved with enough will and effort. Probably long after the song is forgotten, a new generation will look back at us in this time, much as we read about ancient Greece and Rome. Do we want to be looked at from the future as another failed civilization that collapsed into the pages of history, or a great civilization to be admired and emulated?
“If we don’t change the direction we are headed, we may end up where we are going”- Chinese proverb
The Chinese seem to have a corner on the market in, among other things, fitting and witty proverbs.
My impression (admittedly possibly biased by the activities I select and company I keep) is that overall people are beginning to care what our legacy will be. It may be a little late, maybe even too late. I remember in the early ’90s there was an environmentalist who came to my community college and gave a talk one night. After the talk, she opened the floor to questions. I can’t tell you how many there were about her and her family recycling…in their home. It was such a strange concept, to separate out one’s trash. Now it’s infuriating that I use two separate bins at work — one for trash and one for plastic, and the one with plastic simply does not get touched because I don’t believe there is recycling in my building. Flabbergasting. But in the early 90s, it was the exception rather than the norm, when – even by then – it should have been the norm.
Your comment on recycling reminded me of a TV series on the Independent Film Channel (ch 81 Time Warner Cable). It’s currently between seasons but I think you can get it on demand. I can’t tell you what episode it was from the past season, but the opening has the 2 main characters sitting in the drivers seats (2 steering wheels) of a sanitation truck where they describe Portland’s efforts for expanding recycling- absolutely hilarious. Portlandia is a somewhat odd comedy series, but after watching a few episodes I was hooked. I think they have a one hour special very soon, maybe this Saturday.
It’s been quite a while, but I used to like reading some old Chinese philosophical books (translated of cause). I guess when a civilization is around for a few thousand years you have a lot of time to observe and learn things.
I think people are starting to wake up to reality rather than believing what the news outlets filter and spoon feed to us- sometimes as unrealistic as ‘reality’ shows. Another sign of waking up is the fairly recent surge in ‘prepping’. We need to take some time and ignore all the BS used to distract us. The news and politicians keep telling us things are improving, we are ‘creating’ new jobs, things are looking up … don’t worry, nothing to see here. It’s not hard to believe all that if you don’t look at the big picture. I think reality is biting enough people in the butt some of us are starting to say “OUCH”.
Agreed!