We just can't help ourselves. We want to distinguish "the other". We want to maximize our own tribe's success. We want to reproduce our kind- to feed our families, to do anything to ensure their survival. We are forced by our nature to sometimes be selfish, to be cruel to the other- human or animal in order to survive. We cannot afford to be softhearted, invariably compassionate, putting others first- those are not survival traits. We are clever but not farsighted..we seldom look more than handful of years into the future, hence our actions often prove reckless and destructive. The Anthropocene is our measure and creation. We are the ones who set the banquet table for ourselves and all other species and now all must sit down to eat the bitter portions.
Thank you, Michael. I'd add only that I think compassion and empathy are often survival traits too. We're such intensely social creatures who live in this push-pull of cruelty and kindness often defined by some subjective distinction between inclusion and exclusion. We seem to be as fiercely loyal to those on the inside as we are fiercely unkind to those on the outside. The solution is to broaden the circle to bring all life inside. But, as you say, we're not wired well for that.
It is quite a story, one whose details I've only touched on here. These were families of ordinary folks caught up in a cultural brutality that should never have touched their lives.
You made/wrote the difficult connections. And you helped me understand an old haunting scene. Small Point has been my family's two week summer destination for decades. I did not know about Malaga. The last time I visited was probably in the late 90's. My father, Wayne - my husband, and I were in a fish market. My father asked the men behind the counter if they had a problem. My father had picked up on their disapproval of Wayne's race. At the time, I was the New York City corner office type and clueless that equality consciousness was a long way from acceptance. I know see just how clueless I was.
Thank you so much, Katharine. I'm sorry to hear you had that run-in, but not surprised. Of course it's always varied from town to town, person to person, and I'm pretty sure we've come a decent way since the 90s. Maine is a very, very white state, though that's been changing. You should come back to the midcoast someday.
I wish I had a better sense of how the Malaga story has been discussed (or not) in Phippsburg and Harpswell, but as much as I spent a good amount of my childhood in Sebasco, I was never for a moment part of that community.
And I just now remembered that a novel by Paul Harding, This Other Eden, came out recently. It fictionalizes the Malaga story. I really wish I'd remembered it for the essay. I'll have to post a note or mention it next week. Here are a couple reviews:
Thanks for your reply, Jason. Please know that the shores of Maine are part of me, especially Small Point. The only reason I haven't been back is that I ration gas for my old Jeep and I don't fly.
There is a chapter about Phippsburg in Rising: Dispatches from the New American Shore by Elizabeth Rush. Page 54 lands in your territory except Rush refers to the Anthropocene as the Capitalocene (a reference to Jason Moore, environmental historian). It's a hard read. I can only handle chunks at a time. There's also a chapter about Small Point!
Thank you, also, for the book reviews. I will look them up. in kinship, Katharine
Harding, btw, won the Pulitzer for his book Tinkers several years ago. As the NYT review gets into, he's a very lyrical writer. He knows how to make his sentences sing. I need to put it on my pile...
Sounds like a book that would make for a good group read, given the issues that need to breathe. Yes, I know - we would both need TIME to pull that off. Yet, still - collaboration on Substack is possible…
As ever, so beautifully written with such gentleness and grace. So comforting in these times of global uncertainty & political unrest.
That's very kind of you to say, Kathleen. Thank you.
We just can't help ourselves. We want to distinguish "the other". We want to maximize our own tribe's success. We want to reproduce our kind- to feed our families, to do anything to ensure their survival. We are forced by our nature to sometimes be selfish, to be cruel to the other- human or animal in order to survive. We cannot afford to be softhearted, invariably compassionate, putting others first- those are not survival traits. We are clever but not farsighted..we seldom look more than handful of years into the future, hence our actions often prove reckless and destructive. The Anthropocene is our measure and creation. We are the ones who set the banquet table for ourselves and all other species and now all must sit down to eat the bitter portions.
Thank you, Michael. I'd add only that I think compassion and empathy are often survival traits too. We're such intensely social creatures who live in this push-pull of cruelty and kindness often defined by some subjective distinction between inclusion and exclusion. We seem to be as fiercely loyal to those on the inside as we are fiercely unkind to those on the outside. The solution is to broaden the circle to bring all life inside. But, as you say, we're not wired well for that.
Edwin Markham wrote on circles of inclusion:
"He drew a circle that shut me out-
Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.
But love and I had the wit to win:
We drew a circle and took him in."
Love that quote. It reminds me of : The problem with the world is that we draw the circle of our family too small.
Mother Teresa
That's perfect. Thank you, Michael.
What a tale, thank you for sharing. Food for thought across time.
It is quite a story, one whose details I've only touched on here. These were families of ordinary folks caught up in a cultural brutality that should never have touched their lives.
Beautiful.
Jason, I've restacked.
You made/wrote the difficult connections. And you helped me understand an old haunting scene. Small Point has been my family's two week summer destination for decades. I did not know about Malaga. The last time I visited was probably in the late 90's. My father, Wayne - my husband, and I were in a fish market. My father asked the men behind the counter if they had a problem. My father had picked up on their disapproval of Wayne's race. At the time, I was the New York City corner office type and clueless that equality consciousness was a long way from acceptance. I know see just how clueless I was.
Thank you for your work.k
Thank you so much, Katharine. I'm sorry to hear you had that run-in, but not surprised. Of course it's always varied from town to town, person to person, and I'm pretty sure we've come a decent way since the 90s. Maine is a very, very white state, though that's been changing. You should come back to the midcoast someday.
I wish I had a better sense of how the Malaga story has been discussed (or not) in Phippsburg and Harpswell, but as much as I spent a good amount of my childhood in Sebasco, I was never for a moment part of that community.
And I just now remembered that a novel by Paul Harding, This Other Eden, came out recently. It fictionalizes the Malaga story. I really wish I'd remembered it for the essay. I'll have to post a note or mention it next week. Here are a couple reviews:
https://www.npr.org/2023/01/20/1149796211/this-other-eden-review-paul-harding-malaga-island-maine
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/24/books/review/this-other-eden-paul-harding.html
Thanks for your reply, Jason. Please know that the shores of Maine are part of me, especially Small Point. The only reason I haven't been back is that I ration gas for my old Jeep and I don't fly.
There is a chapter about Phippsburg in Rising: Dispatches from the New American Shore by Elizabeth Rush. Page 54 lands in your territory except Rush refers to the Anthropocene as the Capitalocene (a reference to Jason Moore, environmental historian). It's a hard read. I can only handle chunks at a time. There's also a chapter about Small Point!
Thank you, also, for the book reviews. I will look them up. in kinship, Katharine
Harding, btw, won the Pulitzer for his book Tinkers several years ago. As the NYT review gets into, he's a very lyrical writer. He knows how to make his sentences sing. I need to put it on my pile...
Yes, I am curious.
Harding’s books are on my list.
Please let me know if/when you read Eden.
Sounds like a book that would make for a good group read, given the issues that need to breathe. Yes, I know - we would both need TIME to pull that off. Yet, still - collaboration on Substack is possible…
Great piece, Jason.
Thank you, Maureen.